


(Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan series) Hick Valkyrie: Dawn of the Dead

by turtledynasty



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Romance, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-01-19 06:02:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 44,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1458595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtledynasty/pseuds/turtledynasty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hick Valkyrie is a daughter of Hades and the lone wolf of the Camp Half-Blood community. After the Prophecy of Seven, the Oracle of Delphi produced a prophecy that calls upon Hick's participation in the gods' messy affairs. Together with her teammates Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Hazel Levesque and Nico di Angelo, Hick embarks on an adventure that decides the fate of the entire universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am the same writer on fanfiction.net 'turtledynasty' (https://www.fanfiction.net/~turtledynasty ) as well as rookie illustrator of Percy Jackson characters from my fanfiction stories (http://turtledynasty.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Hick Valkyrie (the protagonist)  
> http://turtledynasty.tumblr.com/image/89751937308
> 
> Hick Valkyrie and Percy Jackson  
> http://38.media.tumblr.com/71f4230ae24ee61c5fdfd2f2e90c1ac7/tumblr_n75x2gveA11tze803o2_1280.jpg
> 
> Hick Valkyrie and Ryan Swanapoel  
> 1) http://31.media.tumblr.com/55b92990257e2f0b5f222a8a8a7cf8de/tumblr_n7bqrhavjp1tze803o2_1280.png  
> 2) http://turtledynasty.tumblr.com/image/89753036633
> 
> The Three Hades Kids (Hick, Nico and Hazel)  
> http://37.media.tumblr.com/24b68658a862c5c7b3f09b2e72ab08bd/tumblr_n7bqnyW8uj1tze803o2_1280.png

**A New Warrior**

Hick plopped herself down on the dewy grass, fiddling with the torchlight in her hand. She had left it switched off. There she was, sitting in the middle of the field in the dark, skipping out on the horror movie screening. She never liked horror movies, especially the gory ones.

There came the sound of shuffling feet approaching one of the "haunted" houses, perking up Hick's attention. _Wait for it…_ she smirked, her gaze centered on the cluster of demarcated bunkhouses. A moan. A thud. A bright flash of light from the windows. "And here it comes…" she muttered, as a deafening boom filled the chilly silence, setting off a chorus of shrieks.

Silence. The dark came back as soon as the flash of light died out. Hick plucked at the grass beneath her, tearing each piece into tiny green threads. It seemed the longer she stared at the ground in this darkness, the more she saw faces staring back at her. The cool night air clung to her skin, and the crickets' rhythmic croaking and creaking was starting to lull her to sleep.

"I'm back!"

Hick turned to see her best friend, Ryan, approaching her from behind.

"Alright! I'm thirsty!" she exclaimed, arms outstretched to grasp her can of soda pop as Ryan handed it to her. As soon as she caught hold of her drink, a flash of lightning lit the night sky blue before letting darkness take over again, and a huge gust of wind blew past her, knocking it off her grip.

"Hey! My hat!" Ryan exclaimed. His cap had been knocked off his head, and was flapping about in the turbulent wind, mocking his attempts to catch it. Hick hated it when this happened. A bright, angry flash of lightning streaked across the heavens, lighting up the dark night sky so much that it looked liked day for a second. A loud crack of thunder followed, so loud it hurt Hick's ears. She sighed. It had to be Zeus.

"Come on, Ryan. We should head for shelter." She grabbed onto his arm and trudged past the tall grass that was bending in the wind, towards the bunkhouses. As soon as they were sheltered from the cold wind, Hick released her grip off him. She had to do something about that stubborn old prick up in the sky.

She turned to Ryan. His blonde hair was all messed up, and he had the front of windbreaker all zipped up to block off the cold wind. His startling blue eyes met hers and he raised his brows. "What?"

Ryan wasn't going to like this. "Uh… hey! You know… I... uh... almost forgot, I've got an errand to run," she said, avoiding her friend's gaze.

"Why do you even bother lying?" sighed Ryan.

An awkward pause.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. That was all she could allow herself to say. And she took off.  
"Can't you just tell me what's going on?"

Hick stopped in her tracks. She turned to face him. He looked puzzled, worried, frustrated. And she hated that look. "... I'll be back, I promise."

"That was what you said the last time. That is what you always say." He sounded angry. His words hit her like a rude splash of freezing water. But she can't involve him in her matters. She just can't.

* * *

**Apple Valley, California, 2003.  
**

"You are not to tell anyone what you can do, Hick. Not a soul."  
"Yes, mama."  
"Not a soul. You understand? Not even Ryan."  
"Yes, mama."

A seven year-old Hick stepped out onto the dusty grey porch of the flat, dragging along with her a plastic bag of dirty laundry. The little girl's voluminous locks were tied into a loose, messy braid that draped over her left shoulder. Just outside the gate, a little boy with hair the colour of pale butter and kind yet mischievous blue eyes was practicing his soccer kicks against the walls. He'd do that every evening, patiently for the redheaded girl to emerge. And when she did, he'd smile and follow her wherever she went, kicking his soccer ball after her.

* * *

**The present.**

As soon as Hick was sure that Ryan had lost sight of her, she followed the dirt path that led to the exit of the campsite, heading towards the dark forest that surrounded the camp. The moment she set foot into the dark forest, the storm ceased and rustling trees stilled.

"I know you're here. Come on out and let's get this over and done with."

Silence.

"Oh pretty _please_! I have a college camp to supervise!" she called out sarcastically.

True enough, Hick saw a figure emerged from behind the trees just to her left. A storm spirit. No. Two. They were sneering at her.

She immediately knelt and touched the ground, feeling the shadows beneath her. She counted eight of them in her presence. And the presence of another. A demi-god. Shadow traveling wouldn't do her any good. It would be too taxing on her mental strength and they'll still find her anyway. It looks like she would have to put up a fight.

She looked up at the storm spirit approaching her, his eyes cackling with electricity and his smoky wings outstretched, ready for flight. He had an evil glint in his eyes, the same evil glint that reminded Hick of those horrid and ridiculously athletic cheerleaders in her high school who relished in the horrendous game of dodge ball during gym class. _Man, did that hurt,_ she winced, recalling the painful memory.

In a heartbeat, the storm spirit swooped Hick off the ground while she was momentarily lost in thought, gripping her by the throat as he soared up towards the dark night sky. The wind was roaring in Hick's ears and they were at a great height from the ground now. Hick rolled her eyes, feeling more annoyed than fearful as she tried to loosen the storm spirit's grip on her neck.

The storm spirit finally came to a halt. Why isn't she screaming? He frowned. Fear started creeping in and he looked at the demigod in his captive. She appeared rather sorry for him.

"I'm sorry, I can't help but radiate this scary aura when I'm under attack. I guess it's a natural defence mechanism, you know, being the daughter of Hades and all… like… a porcupine…" she trailed off. They stared at each other in silence. Hick cocked her head to one side and took a peek at how far up the storm spirit had flown. They were hovering just above a sea of wispy, grey clouds. No biggy.

There came another gust of wind, blowing Hick's auburn hair in her face. "Uh… could you let me down, please? The wind up here is really strong and I don't wanna catch a cold…" she croaked, clutching at the hand that was gripping her neck. Man, she is so not enjoying this.

"Zeus sent me," the storm spirit said, his wispy white hair flowing with the wind currents. "It is my duty to send you to - "

"Camp Half-Blood, I know! Man, ease the grip on my throat! You tryna kill me?" Hick groaned. With strength so great, it took the storm spirit aback, Hick pushed herself out of her captor's grasp into the arms of the shadows that hoisted her footing, keeping her standing before her abductor. He seemed confused as to why she had not yet plummeted to her death.

"Dude, don't worry. I control the dark. It's holding me up. See, I can move around in the night sky like this," Hick explained, swooping around the storm spirit, feeling like she was Peter Pan.

The storm spirit just stared at her, a look of confusion on his face. He didn't get it. Usually, demi-gods who have not been to Camp Half-Blood as long as this one would be weak and vulnerable because of their inability to control their powers. This demi-god was an anomaly in this case. The storm spirit cleared his throat and puffed up his chest.

"I am not 'dude', as you have addressed me. My name is Flynn."

More storm spirits were arriving at the scene, about to attack, but Flynn beckoned at them frantically to stand down and they halted, confused.

"Yeah, okay whatever. Zeus and I had the same talk last month when he sent that stupid Minotaur on my birthday," Hick continued nonchalantly, unaware of what a big threat she was to them. "I'm not going to that camp. I am more than capable of taking care of myself."  
"And that is why he sent me."

The storm spirits backed away from her and Hick groaned. What now? She looked over her shoulder. Seated upon a winged horse was a boy with sea-green eyes and feathery jet-black hair, looking to be about her age.

"I'm Percy. Son of Poseidon. You've become rather… notorious at Camp Half-Blood for giving the other demi-gods a rough time. So they sent me."

Hick stared at Percy, unsure of what to make of his appearance. "Yeah… okay… if you would just keep control of these storm spirits here... they were causing a ruckus with the mini typhoon they brewed earlier on. I have a group of freshmen in camp to look after and this is going to be rude but… I've got to go…"

Without further ado, Hick plunged herself into the darkness and shadow travelled into one of the dark toilets used as one of the ghost stations for the camp's night walk. There she stood, in the darkness, feeling curiously uneasy in her own element for the first time.

* * *

It was morning. Percy examined the red tag he wore around his neck.

**PERSEUS JACKSON**   
**CAMP COUNCILLOR**

It was a new cover the gods had given him.

A couple of college students wearing matching tags waved at him, patted him on the back in greeting. He made his way towards the open air dining area on the stony platform, where Hick was. It wasn't too difficult to spot her from a distance. The murky greenery of the surrounding pine tree forests made her flaming red hair stand out. Seated on her right was a blonde guy, cradling between his muscled lean arms a soccer ball that has yellowed with age; and on the blonde's right was another male mortal with skin the colour of milk chocolate and a smile that Percy could tell was worn regularly. The trio seemed to be grimacing at something they were watching on the tablet hoisted up just before the blonde guy.

"Wait…Wait… What… What…" Hick sputtered, staring at the screen.  
"Oh no… He's going to…" the blonde guy trailed off, his pale blue eyes wide with horror, but also with glee at Hick's distress. She buried her face into his left shoulder, much to the cheeky boy's delight. "Ryan, why are you doing this to us first thing in the morning?!"

Percy raised his brows. So the handsome blonde is Ryan.

"I think I'm gonna puke," the other boy muttered, pressing his palm to his lips.  
"Oh no! Look away, José! Look away!" Hick cried, her face still buried in Ryan's shoulder.

José. Percy found his face was hilarious. Hick's distressed reaction to whatever is on the tablet was equally comical. With all the will he could muster, Percy muffled down a laughter that threatened to erupt at the seam of his lips.

"You can't! Hick, you promised you'll watch Game of Thrones if José and I watched it with you!" Ryan protested.  
"There's no need to watch it, man! THERE'S NO NEED TO WATCH IT!" José screamed, inducing laughter in Hick and Ryan.

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

Ryan looked up. "Oh hey, Percy! Had a good rest?"

Hick froze. Percy? It can't be. She lifted her face from Ryan's shoulder and turned. It was the demi-god who visited her last night. She squinted at the same red tag she, José, Ryan and every other camp councillor wore around their necks. Yep, that's Perseus aka Percy Jackson all right.

Percy smiled awkwardly at her, his right hand raised as if it cannot decide whether it should wave or ask for a high-five.

"If you could just give me a moment, Hick?"

She sighed. So the gods decided to alter everyone's memories and plant Percy into the campsite as a "regular" and her fellow camp councillor. If they thought this would persuade her to go to stupid Camp Half-Blood, the gods were wrong. That poor demi-god is going to get his ass whooped like all the other previous demi-gods sent to abduct her and bring her back to Camp Half-Blood.

She got up and followed him. They were heading toward the open field Hick had sat on yesterday night.

Hick looked up at the stormy clouds above. _It's not going to work, Zeus. You should send your demi-gods on some other more worthwhile mission instead of having them waste their time here._ A flash of lightning lit up the sky and the thunder rumbled angrily. Hick rolled her eyes. _Woo. Thunder. I want to pee in my – oomph!_ She had bumped into Percy's chest. He had stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"You shouldn't anger him too much. There are people here and you don't want a storm unleashed onto them."

She glared up at the intruder. "Look, Percy. I don't want and I don't need to be part of your camp. I'm sure it's great and all, but I have people I care for here that I cannot afford to abandon."

Percy's line of vision automatically turned to the blonde guy.

"Boyfriend?" he blurted out, before he could stop himself.  
"What?" "The blue, I-I mean blonde… uh… Ryan. Ryan. Y-you and Ryan seem kind of close so I... I, uh... I-I-I just thought…" Percy stammered, wringing his hands nervously. Why's he being nervous all of a sudden? _Snap back to your sense, you idiot!_

"No, it's not like that. We're best friends, me, Ryan and José. We've known each other pretty much since we were born. Our moms were on the same soccer team way back in their high school days," Hick replied, unfazed by Percy's bluntness and utterly oblivious to his nervous energy. "They're my whole life, Percy. And my mom. Especially my mom. I can't afford to run around risking my life completing missions for those stupid, useless gods who only know how to cement their asses to their stupid golden thrones. If I die because of such a stupid reason, my mom will have no one. I won't put her through what Hades had. I will never abandon her. Never. I hope you understand."

Percy looked down at his feet. He had never thought about that before. At least he had a great stepfather looking after his mom. He scratched his head of jet-black hair, feeling a little sorry for the new warrior.

"Sure I do," he finally. "But… the gods are squirming in their seats right now with each second ticking by. One way or another, they're gonna get you in Camp Half-Blood. I'm not supposed to tell you this right now, but I don't think brute strength will get you to Camp Half-Blood, so my hands are tied. You see... the Oracle of Delphi has announced the next prophecy."

Hick froze. She read about the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle never ever brings good news.

"It's got your life on the line, Hick, along with the rest of the world… and that pretty much includes your mom."

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Call of Phoebe**

Tortured screams echoed through the city. The sky was heavy with smoke and fire. All Hick could do was stand and watch helplessly as chaos in its fiery form engulf the city with its licking flames.

"Run, Hick! Run!"

"Mom?" Hick turned and saw her mother running towards her, a drakon fast at her heels. Within a flash, it snapped open its huge jaws and swallowed her mother hold. Grief and fury ceased Hick by her heart, rendering her breathless. Die. The ground cracked open and armies of ghosts emerged, slaying monsters and humans in her stride. She heard them cry for mercy, but she didn't listen.

"Hick!"

It was Ryan's voice. Hick stopped in her tracks and looked around. Piles and piles of skeleton-coloured corpses filled the streets. It was as if the city had worn a blanket of grey. The survivors were screaming, crying. A child's wails of distress pierced through the streets, amidst the chaos and the despair.

_What have I done?_

* * *

"Hick! Wake up!"

Darkness engulfed her and Hick opened her eyes to an extinguished campfire. She gasped and sat up straight. Dang. She had slept through the entire campfire gathering.

"You were trembling," Ryan told her, feeling her forehead. "Is it another nightmare?"  
Hick mustered a frail smile. "It's not like I died, Ryan. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You were crying in your sleep."  
"Because you made me play 'Slenderman' last night when I didn't want to! Be ashamed, Swanapoel!" Hick retorted as she stood up to stretch her arms. Hick always called Ryan by his surname whenever she felt like teasing him. And that meant that the conversation would only take a turn down nonsense lane. Which meant that Ryan wasn't going to get any answers that explain Hick's regular disappearances, her numerous scars all over her arms and legs, and quite possibly all over her body. Thankfully, he decided to let it go.

"That game? Gosh, Hick, you are such a chicken," he teased her. Just like how she'd call him 'Swanapoel' to press his buttons, Ryan would call her 'chicken' to press hers. And she hated that nicname.  
"Oh, please! Who was the one that kept shoving the controllers into my hands?" she snapped.  
"I definitely wouldn't have backed away from the screen and shrieked like a deranged dolphin," said Ryan. "Thanks to you, the house masters almost confiscated my laptop and game controllers."  
"The house masters almost confiscated my laptop and game controllers! Boohoo~" Hick echoed him, earning a whack in the head.

They trudged on through the tall grass toward their bunkrooms, continuing their childish banter. As they finally entered their bunkrooms, the shadows hinted to Hick that a demi-god was approaching. It had to be Percy. As Ryan headed off to where José and his laptop were waiting, Hick headed back to the entrance of the bunkroom and stood at the porch. There was Percy, carrying two dirty green haversacks. "We've got to leave. Now. The gods are working on altering everyone's memories. We don't want to be caught as trespassers."

Hick felt her heart sank as she took one last glance Ryan, who had climbed onto one of the upper bunk beds that José was seated on. They were looking over at her.

"Come on, Hick! There's no escaping this! We've got to finish the rest of the episode," Ryan called out. Hick managed to muster a feeble smile, "Got it! I'll be right back in a minute!"  
"Well, make it quick!" José whined, hugging tightly onto a bolster.  
A pause. A sad smile. "I will."

And she headed out.

 _It's just going to be a temporary thing,_ she assured herself. _Everything will be back to normal soon._ Taking her haversack from Percy, she followed him out of the camp onto the dusty dirt road, where two pegasi waited. "Hick, meet Blackjack and Guido"

Hick waved at the winged horses, "I'm guessing the black one is Blackjack, and the white one's Guido?" Somehow, the black pegasi seemed to be squinting at her.

 _That's the lone warrior? Looks rather frail to me!_ Blackjack whinnied. Percy frowned at him.

Hands on the petite girl's shoulders, Percy guided Hick to Guido, "Hop on. We should reach Camp Half-Blood by dawn."

"You sure? Don't Blackjack and Guido need to sleep?" Hick asked, stroking Guido's mane. Pleasant shivers shot down his spine, and Guido let out a whinny. _That's nice..._

Percy smiled in amusement. "It's fine, Hick. I made sure they rested all day." He was about to hoist Hick up onto Guido but she wriggled out of his grasp. "It's fine, I got this!"

"You sure? Guido's really tall for – "  
"Dude! I got this!" she snapped.  
"Uh… okay," he shrugged, hands up in mock surrender. "If you say so."

And he watched in awkward silence as the petite girl wheezed and huffed as she tried to hop up and mount the tall pegasi. He couldn't see why she'd rather not depend on him for help to hoist her up. After what seemed like forever, Hick finally scrambled onto Guido.

"Yes! Got it!"

Hick shot Percy a triumphant look, her cheeks flushed from all that exercise. He stared at her undecidedly, not sure whether to laugh or to give an encouraging smile. So he just nodded dumbly.

As soon as Percy mounted Blackjack, the horses started galloping down the road, taking off as soon as they caught the wind in their wings. Hick hung on tight, only letting go when they were up in the air to reach for the shadows and check on Ryan and José. _They're safe in the bunkroom,_ the shadows whispered to her. _The storm spirits have left the area._

"Percy?"  
"Yep," Percy replied, his head resting on Black Jack for some nap time.  
"Has everyone's memory been altered now?"

Percy sat up and looked at Hick. She was avoiding his gaze, wearing a poker face.

"Yeah."

Silence.

"I'm really sorry."

Hick scoffed. "A little break from college won't hurt, Percy. It's for the best…" Leaving it at that, Hick turned her away from Percy and rested her head on Guido, unable to contain her tears. _It's for the best,_ she repeated the sentence in her head over and over again, trying to reassure herself and chant away the tears.

* * *

"That's our supposed lone warrior?"

Hick flinched at the sound of a girl's voice. It was a quiet whisper, but still painfully annoying to the ears of anyone in need of slumber. _Ugh… shush!_

"Percy, how did you convince her to come here?" a girl's voice piped in.  
"I just struck a deal with Zeus to have some memories altered, so she'll feel comfortable with her departure."  
"She looks rather petite for a hero." It was a male voice this time.  
"Okay, this is just wrong, us staring at her like this. Let's leave her alone, guys."

Hick found the last voice rather familiar. Where had she heard it before? Hick's eyes shot open and she sat up.

She immediately regretted it. The stomach-churning sight of a huge room jam-packed with people greeted her. Dozens and dozens of eyes stared back at her, scrutinizing her frizzy red mane down to her purple jogging shorts. She froze, like a flustered squirrel that just got caught sneaking nuts out of the kitchen cabinet.

"Uh… hey, Hick! Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Hick turned in the direction of the voice. It was Percy, standing at her bedside. He had on an apologetic smile. She looked around the room and turned to him. "Why are there so many people here?" she whispered, her lavender eyes wide with alarm.

"Yeah… your prophecy is a really big deal… so… I'm really sorry," said Percy apologetically. "They... they followed me in and I just wanted to che - "

"Hi! I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena," the blonde girl standing behind Percy piped in. Her eyes were a beautiful stormy grey. Judging from how close she stood to Percy, Hick could immediately tell they were dating. She seemed rather nice.

"Oh… cool… the goddess of war and wisdom…" Hick replied lamely.

"Right. I'll be giving you a tour around camp," Annabeth continued. "Just let me clear out the room so you can freshen up." She turned and glared at everyone else, gesturing at them to exit. A whole lot of feet shuffled out, bringing the grumbles along with them.

"Hey, you gonna be okay?" Percy whispered to her.

"Gee, I don't know. Changing in and out of clothes can be really difficult," Hick replied sardonically. "Of course I'll be okay! Get going, your girlfriend's waiting!"

Percy stared at her. "H-How did you…?"

Annabeth cleared her throat, tapping her foot impatiently at Percy, her arms crossed. Percy made his way out of the room before casting a last glance at Hick behind his shoulder.

"Alright! This will be your cabin, Cabin 13, where you'll be staying. I've packed all your clothes in that closet over there," Annabeth said, pointing to a simple wooden wardrobe situated in one corner before proceeding to head out. "I'll just be waiting outside then."

"Wait! Annabeth?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for… you know… helping me out… I really appreciate it," Hick said nervously, fidgeting with a bolster's strings. The daughter of Athena nodded and smiled kindly at the newcomer, before finally exiting.

Hick looked around the room. The cabin walls were made of solid obsidian with torches that burned green fire lining the wall. It had a depressing feel to it and Hick didn't like it.

* * *

After 15 minutes, Hick stepped out of Cabin 13 in her brown skinny jeans, dark brown singlet and army green jacket, frowning at the skull hanging on the door.

"Nico decorated it," Annabeth said, noticing Hick's expression. "You could say his taste is rather… dark. He's a son of Hades, Nico di Angelo. He hardly stays in the camp but he should be here by tonight. You can refurnish the cabin if you like. Come on, let's commence the tour."

They walked past the dining pavilion, an amphitheatre and the archery field, towards the sword-fighting arena. Straw dummies in Greek armour were scattered around the room and training swords.

"Capture the flag will commence tonight. Do you have your own sword and shield?"  
"My own-?"  
"Oh yeah, you just got here. So I don't suppose you do," Annabeth said, turning to look at Hick and taking a step back to survey her body. "Okay… you're probably a size S. I'll visit the armoury later."

Hick didn't like the idea of going head to head with anybody armed with any kind of weapon, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. They saw the canoeing lake, the stables where Hick greeted Guido, the javelin range and the sing-along amphitheatre.

Finally, they came to the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings Hick had ever seen.

Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Hephaestus' cabin, cabin 9, looked like a small factory, with brick walls and smokestacks like the forges and lots of gears around the entrance.

Aphrodite's cabin, cabin 10, was what Hick would call a life-size 'Barbie house' that was ridiculously pink, with lace curtains and potted carnations by the window. It practically screamed 'BIMBOTIC!' and smelt heavily of designer perfume.

The goddess Demeter's cabin, cabin 4, was by far Hick's favourite. Flowers blanketed the goddess of harvest's humble abode, and tomato plants grew on the walls and doorway. Wild flowers and roses sprouted on the porch and they had a real grass roof. The cabin was coloured a gentle light shade of brown.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

 _Zeus and Hera,_ Hick observed. She looked up at the sky. _Well, here I am. You got what you wanted, Zeus. Thanks to you, I'm gonna be pulverized by tomorrow night._

The sky rumbled, as Hick had anticipated. She rolled her eyes. _Typical._ Like she was going to be intimidated by the same loud boom of thunder she's been hearing for eighteen years and counting.

A chorus of giggles came from the distance and Hick saw a group of Aphrodite demi-gods, two boys and three girls, approaching them. One girl stood out as the leader of the pack. She was tall and Asian, with her dark hair worn in ringlets and perfect makeup. She kind of reminded Hick of those tall, slim beautiful K-pop girl band members, with her big pretty eyes, flawless skin and soft feminine facial features. Simply standing next to her made Hick feel like an utter dwarf.

"Hey! You're Hick, right? I'm Drew Tanaka," the pretty girl smiled sweetly. _Tanaka,_ Hick thought. _So she's Japanese._ Annabeth narrowed her eyes at the daughter of Aphrodite and laid a protective hand on Hick's shoulder.

"What do you want, Drew?" Hick flinched at the hostility in Annabeth's voice. She obviously didn't like this girl very much, and Annabeth didn't seem like the kind of person that hated people randomly. Hick stared at Drew apprehensively, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"It's nothing. Jason's arrived. He wants to see the newcomer he'll be working with for the quest," Drew shrugged, sizing Hick up and down as the poor girl squirmed under her scrutiny. Drew raised her brows. Painfully plain fashion sense, healthy complexion, luscious auburn locks curling at the shoulders… Hick seemed too sunshine and rainbows to be a child of Hades for Drew.

That was until she settled her sight on Hick's round doe-eyes.

Drew's smirk vanished, and the disconcerted look evident in her eyes was replaced by a sense of uneasiness. Something about those purple eyes made her uneasy as they drew her in, as if it was sucking her soul out of her body. Fear crept in, seizing her by the throat and closing up her air passage. She quickly averted her eyes, trying to control her erratic breathing.

"He's finally arrived? Well, it's almost evening and we have to prepare for the competition. He can meet her then," Annabeth intervened.

"Yeah, he's hanging out with Piper at the amphitheatre now so I don't think he's in a hurry. Anyways, he's brought a prophecy and a gift from the titan, Phoebe, to Hick," one of the Aphrodite girls piped up, snapping noisily away at a mega-huge wad of bubbly gum.

"What?!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Sorry, what's going on?" Hick piped in, feeling utterly lost and left out. Annabeth had kept on answering in her stead that Hick had not had the chance to ask the Aphrodite kids any questions to clarify what they meant, let alone utter a word. Who's Jason? Who's Phoebe?

"Phoebe, the Titan of Bright Intellect and Prophecy. It's usually the gods that give out personal prophecies. Phoebe has never given out prophecies to demi-gods, let alone interfere in our affairs... No Titan has, until…" Annabeth trailed off, staring at Hick. Hick froze, her eyes wide with fear. "Am... Am I in trouble?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No. I don't think... I don't know."

Hick gulped. _Oh damn. If a daughter of Athena has no idea, then I'm royally screwed._

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Royally Screwed**

Night fell and a deep, nasal sound filled the silence in the dark while huge flocks of birds escaped the rustling trees. Chiron, the activities director of Camp Half-Blood, had blown the conch horn. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, an athletic girl and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head. Hick shuddered. Athena is going to be up against some really tough opponents. Especially that leading lady of Ares. Man, look at those biceps.

"She's huge, isn't she? That's Clarisse, daughter of Ares."

Hick turned in the direction of the voice and saw a boy around her age standing next to her. His hair was the same light shade of blonde as Ryan's under the flicker of the fiery night torches, but she could not make out his facial features. He seemed much taller and muscular than Ryan though.

Hick held her torch up to his face. The blonde guy looked nothing like Ryan. He looked handsome, no doubt, but he did not have the playful, flirtatious look that Ryan has. This guy has an intense steely gaze in his electric blue eyes and angular, serious features; all of which makes him come across as some sort of blonde superman.

"I heard from Annabeth that Ares and Athena are in the lead for this whole competition on which is the best cabin," Hick commented. "I'm guessing those are the flags the opposite teams have to steal from each other?"

The blond guy nodded in reply. He turned to face Hick. "You're the daughter of Hades, right? The drifter?"

"Hah?" Hick stared blankly at the new friend she made. _What drifter?_

"I'm Jason, your teammate for the quest you're going to be on. You know me... right?" He sounded kind of hopeful.

Hick raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... well sure, I just met you. Some pretty girl told me you were looking for me earlier on. Sorry for the delay. Annabeth had to prepare me for this stupid competition," she replied, brandishing her bow and arrows. His face fell. Hick didn't get it. _Did I answer the question wrong?_ She shuffled her feet nervously, unsure of what to make of the situation.

There came another blow of the horn, and everyone started charging off, roaring and banging their swords against their shields as they did. The flags have been in placed. The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins, as well as the Three Greats: Poseidon, Zeus and Hades.

Ares had allied themselves with everybody: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. The Dionysus's kids were excellent athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, roughest, strongest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.

"Which cabin do you belong to?" Hick asked Jason, at a lost as to what she should do while the last of the half-blood kids passed her by.

"I'm a son of Jupiter, the Roman god. So under Greek terms, I'm a son of Zeus. I guess we're allies."

Hick looked around. Everyone had left. She and Jason were the only ones left at the assembly point. The cricking of the crickets filled the silence. She turned to him. "Yeah… Okay… I'm just gonna head straight to Ares and see what I can do."  
Jason frowned, "But we're suppose to stick to the plan Ath-"  
"Okay you go do that. Bye!" Hick shrugged, jogging off to Ares' territory.  
"H-Hey! Wait up!" Jason called out, running after her.

* * *

Hick and Jason trudged through the trees in the dark, simply talking. She learnt of Percy's brother, who is apparently a Cyclops and a child of Poseidon as well. There was Piper, the girl Jason is clearly smitten with, and Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus and Jason's best friend. Then there were her siblings, Nico di Angelo from the Greek camp, and Hazel Levesque from the Roman camp. Both of them have yet to arrive at Camp Half-Blood.

Hick stopped in her tracks and signalled Jason to keep silent. The shadows had spoken to her. Eleven were approaching from behind, another eleven up ahead. On the left, four were closing in fast and the right is where the flag is. Half of the defence team had abandoned the flag and started to approach them.

That meant that Ares' flag was sparsely guarded.

"We're surrounded. By dozens," Hick whispered to Jason. She could feel the enemy closing in fast on them.

"Any idea what we should do next?" Jason whispered in reply.  
"Up the trees," Hick replied, looking up at the thick tree branches hovering over them. "Always up the trees."

Hick snuffed the life out of her torch's flame with the shadows, carried it between her gritted teeth and began climbing the nearest tree, with Jason following her close behind.

"Don't you think we should help out with Athena's plan instead of hiding out here," said Jason, as soon as both of them settled on a sturdy tree branch.

"Hey, we're helping them out now, alright? Now that a couple of them are looking for us here, Ares' defence around the flag has weakened. Let's hope we can buy Athena some time to penetrate through their defence," said Hick, conjuring green underworld flames from her fingertips and lighting up her torch again. The flame roared bright and fierce in the dark forest. That would attract definitely attract Ares' attention.

The rival team members finally revealed themselves.

"Attack!" Hick could hear Drew shriek command from below.  
Arrows started coming up at Hick and Jason. Somehow, her teammates seemed to obey her too readily for Hick's taste.

"Shoot," Jason cursed under his breath. "She's using Charm Speak to make everyone follow her bid."  
"Hey! No maiming!" Hick yelled at them.  
"Oops! Guess we're losing out desert privileges!" taunted one blonde Aphrodite girl.  
"Are they serious?" gasped Hick, turning to look at Jason. "Do they want to KILL us?"  
"Uh... We demi-gods heal fast," Jason shrugged. "And people can get crazy competitive. Oh shoot, some of them are starting to climb up."

Hick hastily went through her options. _Necromancy? No, ghost armies kill. Geokinesis? Right, opening up the ground and sending us all to the underworld is the way to go. Ugh! Think, Hick! Think!_  
She was running out of time.

"Psst!"

Jason sat straight and strained his ears. "Hick, did you hear that?" he said.  
"If you mean those stupid Ares kids down there going all 'Oh! My desert privileges! My desert privileges! Boohoohoo!' then yes, I heard that! Gosh, how long are they gonna stand there and mock me?"  
"Psst!"  
"Again! There it went again!" said Jason. "Didn't you hear it?"

Hick heard it this time. It was coming from their left. So Hick turned to look and what she saw shocked the bejeezus out of her. Sitting on the branches of a neighbouring tree was a petite African American girl with tightly curled dark brown hair. Seated right next to her was a taller, lankier boy who looked as pale as a ghost. How had Hick not sensed their presence? She immediately drew an arrow and pointed it at them.

"Who the hell are you?" Hick exclaimed. She couldn't help herself. The girl and the boy totally freaked her out.

"Hazel! Nico!" Jason greeted them.

The pale boy whom Hick guessed must be Nico pressed a finger to his lips. The girl, Hazel, was peering at Hick with her wide, puppy dog eyes and it was starting to freak Hick out a little. She seemed to be signalling to Hick and Jason something. Someting above them. Hick unhooked the arrow from her bow, and looked up. Just hovering above her and Jason was a long tree branch, and it had a hornet's nest dangling at its tip. Hick met Hazel's eyes again. The girl was signalling a sawing motion. _Cut it off_ , she seemed to tell Hick with her eyes. Without a word, Hick climbed onto the branch above her and crawled her way to the hornet's nest. She unsheathed a pocket knife Annabeth had given her and, heating it searing hot with underworld flames, sliced the thick branch and let the hornet's nest fall. What followed later was a series of surprised yelps, followed by bloodcurling screams as the enemy below experienced the painful sting of hornets.

"You may want to do something about those two climbing up your tree," Nico called out. Jason looked down. He almost forgot about the two Ares boys that were climbing up after them. They were only three or four branches away from them now.

"Uh… Hick? Got a plan?" Jason called out. Hick swung down to Jason's tree branch and nestled herself right next to him. Reaching her right hand out, Hick flexed her fingers, taking control of the shadows. The attackers climbing the tree suddenly froze, unable to move. Panic seized them as they struggled to move, but to no avail.

"What's going on?!"  
"I can't move!"  
"Oh gods! Oh gods! Something's grabbing my feet!"  
Jason squinted at the Ares boys in the darkness and saw dark, shadowy beings hugging the attackers in place to the tree bark.

"Jump off, Hick," Drew called out. Jason froze. Uh oh. She's using Charm Speak again, this time to manipulate Hick. He turned to look at his comrade. She looked dazed. Confused. "No, Hick! Don't!" Hick shook her head and snapped back to her senses, trying not to lose control over her body.

"Jump off," Drew repeated.  
"Hick, she's using Charm Speak to control you! Snap out of it," Jason yelled, panicking as he watched Hick get to her feet, balancing precariously on the tree branch. He grabbed onto her hand.

Too late. Hick wrenched herself from Jason's grip and fell off the tree branch, hurtling towards the ground. She hit the ground with a sickening thud. Pain seared through her entire body and she screamed in pain.

"Hick!" Jason yelled from the tree tops.

The Ares kids had encircled her. Most of the kids from the other cabin were gone, along with the rest of the hornets. Much to the remaining enemy survivors' displeasure, the wounds sustained from the fall on Hick were healing at an alarming rate with the aid of the dark. She tried to get up, her knees wobbling beneath her while Drew stood before her and watched her struggle. The Aphrodite girl had a beautiful but cruel sneer etched across her face, and she felt downright powerful, Hick was sure of that.

"Well, well. Look who we have here. The newcomer everyone's been making a huge fuss about," she scoffed, circling Hick. "You think you could just do whatever you want and act like a some stupid SLUT? "

Hick froze.

* * *

**Apple Valley, California, 2002.**

Hick was only eight years old, but she could tell from how her mom was trembling so that the woman Hick knew to be brave and capable was, for once, utterly terrified. They hid in the dark closet and Hick pressed her face into her mother's shirt, drying the hot tears that were spilling out of her eyes. She hated being in the dark closet, but she hated being outside of it even more.

She could hear furniture crashing to the floor, chairs flung across the room, and her mom jumping to every loud crash and bang in the house.

Then the closet door flung open.

"Now there's the SLUT!" the man growled.

* * *

**The present.**

Rage clouded Hickmind and a huge bout of newfound strength surged through her veins. The forest started to grow darker and everyone flinched at the sudden dimming. Maintaining her composure, Hick stood up straight and looked at Drew square in the eye.

"What did you say?"

Drew smirked. She seemed to have picked on a raw nerve. Getting up close to Hick's face, she whispered those taunting words.

"What? Slut?"

 _Keep calm, Hick._ "Look, we don't want any trouble. It's just a stupid camp game. No one needs to get hurt."  
"Why are you so offended, being called a slut? You shouldn't be ashamed of what you are," Drew taunted her, drawing laughter from her teammates.  
"Please don't call me that," Hick replied, wearing an amused smile. But the angry glint in her eyes gave away her facade. Drew smirked.  
"Why, slut?" said Drew.  
That was it. Hick grabbed Drew by the collar and pulled the daughter of Aphrodite towards her, so they were cheek to cheek.  
"Call me 'slut'. One more time," Hick hissed into her ear. The Aphrodite beauty had on a cocky smile, unaware of the trouble she was about to get into. "I dare you," Hick urged her. "Say it. One. More. Time."  
"Slu – "

Hick released the pretty girl's shirt and the shadows grabbed her, shooting her right up into the night sky. Her long, shrill shrieks petered out into silence. Everyone froze.

"What have you done?!" One of the Aphrodite boys cried out, utterly terrified. "What have you done to her? Bring her back!"

Jason, Hazel and Nico had finally reached the ground and were utterly shocked after what they had just witnessed. They didn't know whether to laugh or stare at Hick in horror.

"Oh don't worry, she'll be back," Hick replied, wiping the beads of sweat off her face as she set her sights up at the night sky.  
"This is against campus rules!" a buff boy yelled at her. "You can't just throw peo – "  
"What? You'd like to go next, you say?" Hick asked, glaring at the Ares kid.  
Everyone backed down, leaving Jason and Hick alone in the centre. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she scoffed, returning her gaze to the sky.

Then, there came a loud cheer from the Ares territory and Hick could see Percy, Annabeth and the rest of the team under Athena heading towards them. "Hick! Hick! We got the flag!" Percy yelled, running towards her. Hick walked past him, her eyes very much still focused on the sky, "Sorry Percy, hold up. Uh… I think it should be… right… around… here?" She stopped in her tracks and reached both arms out, still looking up.

"What's she looking at?" someone whispered. Everybody craned their necks to look up, following Hick's gaze.

Seconds later, there came the faint sound of a hoarse scream that grew louder and louder and louder, and everyone eventually saw a pink dot growing larger and larger. Something was plummeting towards them.

"Everybody, stand clear!" Percy yelled, getting everyone to back off. Hick raised her arms out and caught Drew just in time before she slammed into the ground. Her once glossy curls were now frizzy ringlets, and tears were streaming down her face as she wailed and gasped, smudging her eyeliner. There came a collective gasp from the bystanders.

"Alright, alright, you're alright," Hick scoffed, helping the traumatized girl settle on her feet. Everyone watched as the once confident daughter of Aphrodite sobbed and hyperventilated her way into her siblings' arms. And then, all eyes were now on Hick. _Damn,_ Hick cursed, shoving her hands into her pockets.

* * *

Hick sat alone in her cabin, while Hazel and Nico, whom she found out were also Hades kids and her cabin mates, had gone to the dining pavilion for a bite. Hick tried not to think too much about all the whispers and stares she had gotten. Thinking about it would just stress her out, and that was really unnecessary now.

 _Little bitch._ A familiar voice echoed in her head. Memories of her past started flooding back into her mind. _Stop it. Stop it! Stop thinking about it!_ Hick stood up, clutching her head in frustration. The door of her cabin creaked open and she quickly put her hands down, trying to look unperturbed as she raised her head to meet her guest. It was Jason, freshly washed with his blonde hair slightly damp. He had a brown, tattered parcel in his hand.

"Hey, mind if I come in?"  
"Nah. Come on in and make yourself at home," Hick answered, gesturing to a black leather couch. "I'm guessing that's for me?"  
Jason nodded. "From Phoebe."  
"How's your head?"  
"Oh, totally healed thanks to Percy," Jason shrugged, handing Hick the parcel. "He kinda dunked my head into the sea and used his healing abilities. It's one of the perks of being a Poseidon kid."

Hick took the parcel while Jason comfortably seated himself onto the couch, and as soon as she touched it, the string unravelled and the soft brown paper unfurled itself, revealing its content: a plain white scroll and a pair of brass knuckles - shining in its plain, smooth golden finish. Hick placed the scroll on the black coffee table and fit her fingers right through the brass knuckles. As soon as she did that, the brass knuckles started to morph into massive machine guns that extended past her fingers, with a part of the brass reaching up and moulding onto Hick's hands up to just beneath her elbows. Jason stood up in shock, gaping at Hick. "That… That is huge…"

They were massive, but were curiously light. Hick swung her right arm up and down.

"You should go test it out at the archery field," Jason added, interrupting Hick's moment of daze.

* * *

As they made their way to the archery field, Jason fiddled nervously with Hick's scroll. "Uh… Hick?"

"Yeah?"  
"You know… what you did to Drew back there… It was hilarious, don't get me wrong," Jason chuckled, running his hand through his blonde hair. "It's just… what made you snap? I mean, you don't seem like the kind of person that people could anger easily. And you seemed really pissed then. Heck, you looked really scary. Not your usual bubbly self, you know. Like... Like an actual child of Hades."

"It just triggered some bad memories about my mom and my stepdad and… well, ex-stepdad actually. Is there such a thing?" Hick scoffed, looking at her brass knuckles, which had morphed back into its original form. "He didn't just beat her up around the house. He did a lot of terrible things and that can't be undone. Drew just said the wrong thing at the wrong time, it's… it's really not her fault, if you think about it."

"So that guy's out of your lives?"

"Oh my mom's without that nutcase of a drunk, that's for sure. She's probably on parole right now," Hick explained, a small smile emerging. "She's a police officer. Every single time, she'll pass by the twenty-four hour pizza stall on the way home from night duty and she'd bring home the BEST pepperoni pizza or cheesy garlic loafs ever for breakfast."

"It's great you have a lovely mom to go back to after all this," Jason said wistfully.

"Well, you've got Piper!" Hick exclaimed, trying to break him out of the somber mood and end the pity party. She punched him playfully at the shoulder. "I'm still bloody single. You know, you guys are like... the typical pretty girl next door dating the handsome jock who plays quarterback."

"Wait... You think I'm handsome?"

Hick rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. You're hideous. What, do you think I'm BLIND? Of course you're handsome!"

Jason laughed, shaking his head. "Man, you have not changed!"  
"Given we've only known each other for four hours so far, well duh!" she teased.  
Silence ensued as Jason stopped in his tracks. Hick came to a halt too. Weirdly enough, she was starting to get a little nervous from the look on Jason's face.

"Jason…?"

He hesitated, unsure what to say next. He was a horrible liar. "Hick, I know this is about to sound crazy… but... how do I put this? We've kind of met before."

Hick looked at him blankly, not sure what she was to gather from this. The conversation just made a really awkward turn. "But I have no recollection of you."  
"The gods did the mind alteration. I had to switch elementary schools. I didn't want it to happen, but you, José and Ryan were starting to learn about Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp. You guys were the best friends I ever had but letting you in on the know would get you embroiled in the gods' dangerous affairs and I know how much you didn't want to be a part of all that, always resisting and fighting against Jupiter - I mean - Zeus' attempts to get you involved… I'm sorry."

"Well, look where I am now. So much for that plan," Hick sighed. It wasn't too much to take in for Hick. Life had thrown at her all kinds of battles and bizarre encounters with monsters, literally. But that bit of information Jaosn shared with her baffled her. Do all her memories belong to her anymore.

Shaking it off, she flashed Jason a smile and walked on. "Not your fault, Jason. It's just these goddamn gods. And life, you know. If people now suddenly knew about all the crap they'd be going through prior to their birth, the earth would be filled with a whole lot of really fat, really irritated women."

Jason couldn't help but grin. That was so like Hick, to brush her troubles off and act indifferent. She hated getting all riled up, hating on people and forming unnecessary enemies, and so did Jason. It just saps the energy right out of them. That was one of the reasons why they saw eye to eye and got along so well as kids.

"I'm glad I got to see you again, Hick."  
"And I'm glad I met you… again, I guess."

They finally reached the archery practice field. Hick raised her hands out, the brass knuckles morphing into arm machine guns again. Taking aim at the straw dummies clad with armour, Hick pulled at some sort of trigger that formed at her fingers and a torrent of fiery orange bullets set off quietly, singeing the two straw dummies in front of her into a pile of ash and burning hay. Unclenching her fingers, Hick seized her shots and willed the weapon to morph back into brass knuckles again. She turned to look at Jason. "Looks like Phoebe thinks we're gonna be up against something really powerful."

"One way to find out," Jason replied, handing her the scroll he had brought along. "It wouldn't budge when I tried to open it, just like the parcel. I guess only you can get it to unroll."

As soon as Hick laid hands on the scroll, it unfurled itself, revealing the prophecy penned within in black ink.

 _"For Oceanus, swim, swim, swim again._  
Thou see the what but not the when.  
Die the baby, die thy heart,  
Die us all, and thy most essential part."

* * *

Hick stood in the middle of the dining area before Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi, ready to receive the ultimate prophecy. The red-headed girl recited The Lone Prophecy as Annabeth helped Hick document it:

 _"A warrior of underworld descent, a drifter of her kind,_  
Two former praetors, two kin at her hind,  
Will save or let all worlds ablaze.  
A revolution the lone warrior raise.

The one doomed to death must decide where one stands.  
The destiny of one's race is contained in one's hands.  
So bid you take care, bid you look where you leap,  
As life may be death and death life again reap."

Her audience with Rachel was over. Rachel slumped into her chair, people rushing to her aid.

Hick frowned at the absurdity of it all. This prophecy made even less sense to her, especially the second verse. She looked up at the sky angrily. _I did NOT do well in English Literature class! Help me out here, you STUPID excuse of a god!_ The sky rumbled disgruntingly and Hick looked down, scratching her head in frustration. So far, all she gathered from both the prophecies was that she had to go to Oceanus, and she had to save the world from something nobody has figured out yet. Whispers followed her as she headed back to her table for her breakfast, where her team waited: Percy, Jason, and her newfound siblings, Hazel and Nico. Annabeth was there too, trying to decipher what the two prophecies meant.

"I'm guessing we have to go to where Oceanus is first?" Hazel pondered, as Hick settled beside her.  
"There have been signs of disturbance from the waters these past few months, especially from the deep sea. I couldn't check it out because it's Oceanus' territory," Percy added. "Anyway, my dad contacted me last night. There has been a war going on for the past few months now. Oceanus can't hold the fort any longer, and he needs our help before whatever it is he's fighting takes over his kingdom and move on to my dad's territory."

"Wait, how did he contact you? Hades has never contacted me before," Hick frowned.  
"It was in the showers, and there was water there so he could kind of pop by, I guess," Percy shrugged.  
"While you were showering?"  
A pause. Percy stared at her awkwardly. A huge grin spread across her face, much to Percy's consternation. "Man… that is some superb family quality time."

Everyone at the table chuckled at the thought of an utterly naked and utterly perplexed Percy talking to the god of the sea. Poor Percy blushed like a beetroot.

Jason shook his head at his comrade, "Dude. Your dad saw your junk." Everyone roared with laughter as Jason high-fived Hick.

That was it. "You guys are SO dead!" Percy smirked, launching himself at Jason and Hick and knocking both of them off the bench as Hazel leapt out of the way.

Amidst the chaos, Annabeth concentrated hard on the prophecy from Phoebe, bless her. "Die the baby," she read out the phrase unconsciously, thinking hard.

"Baby? Who's pregnant?" Hick exclaimed. Hazel looked over and tried not to laugh. Hick had managed to pin Percy down on his stomach and fold his arms behind his back, rendering him motionless. All of a sudden, Jason lunged at her from behind, pushing her off Percy as they wrestled in another corner, leaving Percy to just lie on the ground and try to recover his breath.

"She's referring to the prophecy!" Jason huffed in reply to Hick's 'baby' comment, trying hard to pin Hick to the ground. Man, was she insanely strong.  
"Jason, you ass!" Hick roared, utterly offended by his sudden betrayal. Raising her foot, she kicked him off her, letting him crash to the ground on his back.  
"Ow!"  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lightning Boy. Did my back hurt your knife?"

"Our warrior doesn't seem too bright, does she?" Nico leaned in and muttered to Hazel, who was stifling her giggles.

" _Excuse me?_ " Hick stepped on Jason's shadow and froze her opponent in mid-struggle, just before he could spring onto her and rugby wrestle her onto the floor again. Hick turned to glare at Nico. "I heard that, you little bugger. Your taste in interior design ain't that bright either."

Nico looked unsure. He turned to Hazel. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

Hazel shrugged. Hick seated herself next to Hazel at the dining table.

"Just to update you on the changes I made with our cabin, roomie, a bouncy water bed's been installed in the middle of the bedroom because the previous looked like a coffin. And I've expanded the bathroom for the waterslides to be put in place. Oh! You're gonna love the blueprint I've single-handedly sketched out for our very own mini-amusement park for the backyard!"

Nico's jaw dropped. So much for the artistic Indie design he was working on giving his cabin. Percy settled himself opposite Annabeth, right next to Hick, taking over Jason's spot.

"How'd you get to do that?" he asked, Hick. "Doesn't this camp have a budget?"  
"Our dad's not just the god of death, Percy. He's also the god of wealth," Nico replied. "And somebody took advantage of that to do some really poor construction work."  
"I got my Skeleton Warriors to help me with the furniture and construction," Hick explained, ignoring Nico's insult. "They're really nice guys once you get to know them, and very talented when it comes to arts and craft."

Percy raised his brows. Who knew? Armed, murderous warriors of the undead doing arts and craft.

"That's SO COOL! Can I visit your room?" Hazel exclaimed, eyes wide in wonder.  
"Hey, Hick? I think you can release me now!" Jason called out. Everyone ignored him.  
"Sure, you can visit anytime," Hick replied her new found little sister, ruffling the little girl's curls.

Annabeth rolled up the scroll from Phoebe and folded up her documentation of The Lone Prophecy. "As we have figured out before, the warrior of underworld descent and drifter is of course…" Everyone looked at Hick.  
"Me," Hick said. "I know it's kind of dumb to ask this now, but why are you guys so certain it's me?"  
"A warrior of _underworld_ descent, referring to the child of Hades. That leaves you, Nico and Hazel. But the part about a drifter… " Annabeth trailed off. "Hick, you've been the only half-blood who has survived the attacks of mythical monsters that feed off demi-gods. Demi-gods have to be admitted into camp before the age of 13 to have a higher chance of survival. Statistics have proven that, but it seems you're the outlier."

"So… the two kin would be Nico and Hazel, since they're the only siblings I've got under Hades," Hick said, trying to get the attention off her. "And the two former praetors would be…"

Percy raised his hand.

"As well as Jason," Annabeth replied.  
"Hello!" Jason yelled in frustration, still frozen in mid-air, appearing to wrestle nothing but air now since Hick got out of the picture.  
"Oh, sorry!" Hick exclaimed, letting go of Jason's shadow. Jason dropped to the ground, consequently groaning in pain.

"You guys would have to head to Oceanus' territory for now. There must be a reason why Zeus and Phoebe are getting really antsy about this prophecy," Annabeth continued as Jason made his way over to the spot opposite Hick. Hick smiled at him apologetically. Thank you, he mouthed at her sarcastically, ending that note with a patronising smile as he settled down beside Annabeth. Percy, Hick and Hazel tried not to laugh at his ridiculous expression. Nico was unimpressed and moody, as usual.

"I'm guessing sooner or later, it won't just be the underwater world experiencing some disturbances," Annabeth said, looking up at Percy, who immediately snapped back into a poker face.

"What about the part: 'swim and swim and swim again'?" Hick piped in. "Oceanus is the titan that represents the enormous river called Okeanos, which is now known as the oceans we know today. I read about it on Wikipedia yesterday. Okeanos encircles our world, thus the phrase 'swim and swim and swim again'. Could it be what Phoebe is referring to? I mean, Okeanos connects this world to other realms, such as heavenly realms like Olympus and Othrys, and the underworld where the souls of the dead live."

Annabeth stared at Hick. She had never thought of that.

"It is possible," Nico shrugged. "Maybe that's why Percy's been sensing disturbances in the waters these past few months. It could be something to do about the other realms."  
"And we've got to find the passages to those realms and find out what's going on," Hazel concluded. "So when do we leave?"  
"The sooner the better," Jason replied.  
"But how do we leave?" Hick wondered. Jason mouthed at her to shut up. She reciprocated the gesture by throwing a red berry at him, watching it ricochet off his forehead and into the air, before it fell and nestled nicely into a pile of dry autumn leaves. Percy's jaw dropped and Hazel tried hard to stifle her giggle.  
"I've settled that for you with Dionysus," Annabeth replied. "He's got a list of things prepared for you to pack, and he's decided on the mode of transport already. You guys leave by five tomorrow morning."

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Locating Oceanus**

It was 5 o'clock in the morning, two hours before Hick's team departs for the airport to fly to France and get to the Indian Ocean, Oceanus' territory. Percy made his way through the archery field towards the dining pavilion for some breakfast, feeling curiously excited. Somehow, he could not help but look forward to this mission. Heck, he had the good kind of chills running down his spine. As he trudged on, something red caught his eye and he stopped in his tracks. He knew who it was straight away.

There sat Hick, in the middle of the archery field, her thick, shoulder-length auburn curls flowing with the light morning breeze. She had on the same army green jacket she wore yesterday, during the flag competition. It was still dark, but she seemed to not have sensed his presence yet. Probably lost in thought. Probably missing her mom, her friends, Ryan… her life. Percy couldn't help but feel a little sad. It has only been two days since he'd known Hick, but they've gotten along really well. His heart sank a little. He'll miss her when it's time for her to leave.

After much contemplation, he decided to make his way over to the lone warrior's side.

 _Someone's approaching from behind,_ the shadows warned Hick. She looked over her shoulder and saw Percy heading towards her, waving his hand in greeting when they met eye contact. She could see the morning sun starting to inch its way into sight behind the wall of pine trees in the background.  
She smiled back at her teammate and went back to looking through the pictures in her phone.

Percy nested himself right next to her. She was grinning stupidly at a picture on her phone, and held it up for Percy to see. It was a snapshot of Hick, Ryan and José in the midst of screaming at a couple of toys on the floor. "That's Ryan over there, and that's José," Hick said.

Percy smirked. He guessed right; she was thinking about home. "What're you guys doing?"

"Oh, we were invited to a party but it kind of stunk because we didn't fit in… too many cool kids, you know?" Hick sighed, getting a sense of nostalgia from reminiscing. "So, we stumbled upon a couple of mechanical toys in the storage room we were hiding out in and… you know, thought we should bring it out onto the hallway to have a race. And boy, did we." She shook her head in disbelief, laughing. They were such dorks back then, the three of them.

"So… which toy did you choose to race down the hall? Don't tell me it's the…" "Yes! That stupid T-Rex…" Hick groaned, wearing a look of indignation as Percy roared with laughter. "The hopping bunny is Ryan's and the wind-up doll is José's. Obviously the T-Rex didn't GO far because its stupid big-ass head made it topple and fall before it could even CROSS the starting line. Stop laughing! It's not funny! I lost twenty BUCKS. You know what I could've bought with twenty BUCKS? Twenty cups of milo."  
"Damn… Damn…" Percy wheezed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! That must've sucked…" Then there came another burst of laughter.  
"Oh, totally. Totally. I FEEL your sincerity," Hick retorted, scowling at Percy's excessive laughter. "Give it back, you twat!" she growled, snatching her phone back and turning her back on him.

From a distance, Annabeth watched as Percy make a grab at Hick, pulling the newcomer into another tussle. She has never seen Percy like that before, so comfortable in his physical interaction with a girl... and so genuinely happy, ever since he came back from Tartarus. She shifted uncomfortably. She remembered that look on his face when he turned the poison back on Akhyls, so horribly contorted and ugly with rage. Ever since that time, he always had this quiet sadness to him. And Hick was making it go away.

Hick sensed Annabeth's presence and turned to see the blonde demi-god watching from afar. "Annabeth, help! Please! Get this bugger of me!" she yelled, wearing a purple face of constipated anguish. Annabeth chuckled at the sight of Hick's face. Perhaps she's overthinking it.

* * *

The whole team were about to fly first class, courtesy of the wealth Hades had bestowed the team of his three children's behalf. Everyone had sent them off at the entrance of Camp Half-Blood, and Dionysus had driven them off to the airport to catch their flight. It was a long ride from Camp Half-Blood to the airport. Hick fiddled with her brass knuckles nervously, looking out of the window. She knew they had left demi-god territory, because they were now driving on asphalt concrete instead of the dirt path, and the trees were replaced by cobblestone footpaths separating rows and rows of buildings from the traffic.

People call her the warrior. The one to make a revolutionary change.

The one to save the world.

Hick unleashed a quiet scream in the deep, dark depths of her soul and smashed her face into the bulky backpack on her lap. The world is so doomed.

"What're you thinking?" Jason asked. Hick looked at him. He shrugged. "It's just every time you worry, you'd bury your face into something."  
Percy raised his eyebrows at their conversation. _What, do they have a history?_

"Oh you know…" said Hick. "Just about the meaning of life… love… DREAMS…"  
"Splendid, just splendid," Jason grumbled. "You always do that."  
"Yes… yes… I DO think about life a lot," Hick replied, wearing a face of mock contemplation. "You know –"  
"Okay, okay! Forget it!"

Silence ensued.

"Jason?"  
"What?" he snarled.  
"How did we meet before?" Hick whispered. "I mean… what did we do when we were friends? Did you know José and Ryan and… everyone else?"  
Jason hesitated. He met Hick's gaze, and the memories started flooding back.

* * *

There was a huge commotion along the hallway. Everyone started abandoning their desks to find out what the big fuss was all about and Jason naturally followed suit, out of sheer curiosity. That was when he saw her for the first time, the girl with the thick mass of wild flaming red hair and fearless sparkling eyes that were a blazing purple. He remembered seeing her in his art class. She's in 3rd grade.

Jason wondered what a 3rd grader like her was doing, picking a fight with a 5th grader, and the biggest, meanest one of the lot. His name was Grayson. He was the boy that would always empty the bin of leftover food over that scrawny brown guy, José. And right now, he was hurling globs of ice cream at her, with each throw whamming her fragile body hard against the locker. There was a huge pile of rubbish at her feet, and a clump of soggy tissue in her hair, indicating that she had been dumped with rubbish. The ordeal ceased when the ice cream ran out, and the bully stepped back, watching smugly as his piece of 'art' slid down the locker, her trembling legs struggling to support her weight.

And she smiled. She smiled a small smile.

Not one of agony, insanity or incredulity, but of pure merriment. And it showed in those bold purple eyes that never avoided the bully's gaze. Jason could not help staring at it all. There was something sad and endearing to the soggy and rancid girl standing alone, under the scrutiny of the huge crowd of judgmental tweens.

"Come on, let's go. She's nuts." The bully and his friends walked off, done with their fun, but the crowd stayed to milk the drama and bond over gossip. Jason hated those whispers: crazy, weird, excessively excitable… lies about having a family… talks to herself…

He should get her out of there. Jason took a step forward, but someone got to her before he did. It was that Ryan boy, with the pale skin, light blonde hair and pale blue eyes. The 'lover boy', or so people call him, because he was not the junior misogynistic type of boy at all, like the other middle school boys. He liked girls a lot, but he liked Hick especially, probably because she always seem to get into trouble picking fights or accidentally setting the water sprinklers off. In fact, Ryan Swanepoel's one of those audacious little bastards who would actually and successfully sweet-talk the girls until they fell for his charm (hence, the reason why all the boys would constantly ostracise him and pick fights with him, while the girls swooned over him and sent him dozens of love letters). But at that moment, he was devoid of cheekiness. He was a rather sensible boy like that. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

And he led her away from the crowd by the hand.

* * *

"Why didn't you retaliate?" Nico piped up from the boot he and Hazel were sitting in.  
"Wha-? Don't be rude, Nico," said Hick. "He was just offering SOME ice cream."

Everyone else in the cab smiled while Nico simply rolled his eyes.

"You guys knew each other before?" said Hazel. "Why didn't you tell us?"  
"It never came up," Jason shrugged.  
"And I don't remember. Apparently, the gods wiped out all my memories of Jason," Hick grumbled, folding her arms. "We should have some human rights law against those stupid gods playing with people's memories."

After a long ride, Dionysus dropped them off the airport.

It all started when they were exploring the duty-free shops in the departure area. Hazel desperately wanted some food, so Hick and Nico queued up with her at a burger joint while Percy and Jason looked after their belongings.

"That'll be five cheeseburgers and two fish burgers, seven packs French fries, three lemon tea and four coke," the blonde, preppy girl at the counter announced enthusiastically in what Hick suspects is a mash-up tone of Barnie the dinosaur from Gossip Girl. The cashier flashed them a megawatt smile. All three kids of Hades shuddered. She had a lot of teeth, and they were frighteningly white. "And the total is… forty-four fifty!"

Hazel handed over the money and as soon as the girl went off to get their order ready, she looked at Hick. Wow! She mouthed.

"Excuse me! I am so sorry! Excuse me, please!"  
A plump old lady was waddling through the narrow space between two queues, making a huge fuss as she headed towards them. Hick narrowed her eyes. She knew that disguise anywhere. White curls, beige woollen coat, and those beady eyes wedged into that fat, wiggly face. A carnivorous sheep, she thought, getting Nico and Hazel behind her back.

"Hick, what's going on?" Nico muttered, confused by Hick's sudden change in behaviour. Without a word, Hick left their side and grabbed onto the old woman, pulling her away from the people. "Grandma! I told you, the toilet isn't this way!" Hick exclaimed. A couple of people sniggered as they watched Hick pull the monster away. All they could see was a frustrated granddaughter and a flustered granny.

Within a flash, Hick had unsheathed her pocketknife and stabbed the lady in the heart before she could morph into a sheep. It disintegrated into a pile of ash.  
Jason caught on to what was going on and drew his sword. More monsters should be arriving. Percy was confused. "Woah, hey! What the heck was that?"  
"Stray carnivorous sheep. They've found us," Hick replied. "Oh shoot, Hazel and Nico!"

Hick rushed back to the counter where Hazel and Nico were and started pulling them away.

"Guys, we need to leave."  
"What? B-B-But… our food!" Hazel sputtered.

A hand latched onto Hazel's shoulder, pulling her out of Hick's grasp. It was the blonde counter lady. "You should stay. Your order's almost ready."

A forked tongue flickered between her lips. Wait, what? Hazel and Nico froze.

Within seconds, Hick had leapt over the counter, getting behind the basilisk. Grabbing a handful of hair, Hick snapped the lady's head back, exposing the throat. Wasting no time, Hick jammed the knife into the lady's throat before she could morph into her true form: a basilisk. Hazel and Nico watched in horror as blood sputtered out of the scaled neck that Hick had ruthlessly punctured. It wasn't the blood that scared so much. It was the unsettling way Hick executed the kill with such dexterity and… indifference.  
The wounded basilisk eventually crumbled into a pile of ash. Everyone else seemed oblivious to the commotion, thanks to the wonders of the Mist.

"Excuse me, miss. You're not suppose to be behind the counter," one of the cashiers called out to Hick. Hick smiled apologetically, stowing away her weapon.

Another large old lady hobbled her way towards the burger joint two shops away, in a white woollen coat this time. The beady eyes gave her away. Catching Percy's eye, Hick signalled the approach of the enemy. Sheep, she mouthed, gesturing in the direction of the old lady just two shops away. Percy unsheathed his sword, Riptide, and Jason rushed ahead, going in for the kill.

As they approached the hobbling granny, her woollen coat stretched and melted into her skin, and she lunged forward, morphing into a sheep the size of a hippo.

"Ugh, just great," Hazel groaned, rushing off to help the guys. "Of all times, they had to find us when I'm goddamn famished."

The sheep had wrestled Jason to the floor and was snapping its jaws relentlessly at him. In a flash, Percy ran Riptide through the sheep's side, spilling its guts onto the cold marbled floor. Three more sheep headed his way. Nico ran off after Hazel to help them, using umbrakinesis to hold the sheep in place for Percy and Jason to finish them off.

Out of the blue, another blasted sheep from afar came charging towards Nico from another angle. Hick went bounding towards the monster. Within a split second, Hick went from a mad sprint to a rapid skid, pulling the sheep's hind leg as she did and tripping it before it could ram Nico off course. In another heartbeat, she had clambered on to the sheep's back, and automatically stabbed her knife right in the middle of the sheep's forehead, just above the eyes, completely destroying the brain and bringing about immediate death.

Done with the kill, Hick rolled off the sheep's back and got up on her feet. She caught one last look of the dead sheep, its eyes rolled back and its tongue dangling out, before it disintegrated into another pile of ash.

"This is impossible!"

That was Hazel. Hick looked up to see her teammates struggling with an exceptionally huge sheep. Its eyes were wide open with desperation, and it was snapping its jaws at Jason, splattering globs of saliva all over Jason's face. It must have gone delirious with lust at the scent of the Big Three's demi-gods. There was Percy, trying to run Riptide through the sheep's body, but it's massiveness made it impossible. It was practically elephantine in size. Blood was everywhere.

"Kill it already!" Nico growled, getting tired from holding the sheep in its place with umbrakinesis. It was ridiculously strong, given its massive size and its woollen coat had a steely texture to it, rendering Percy and Hazel's blades useless.

"Would you guys hurry?" Jason yelled, tired of getting sprayed with the crazy hungry sheep's spit as it made another violent attempt to take a bite out of his face.

Hick placed her hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Not like that. This one has a thick and strong pelt. So aim for the brain. Like this." Taking up her knife, Hick rammed her weapon through the beast's forehead, just above the eyes. It stilled and its legs gave way immediately.

Everyone collapsed onto the floor as the sheep disintegrated into a pile of ash all over Jason. The poor guy was too exhausted to even sit up and dust it all off.

"Are there more basilisks coming?" Hazel asked Hick. Everyone groaned, ignoring the passers-by who were staring at them.  
"No. But if they do, hold your breath and avoid its breath… and especially its spit. They're venomous. The scales are fragile on its underside, so once it rises to strike, you'll have to be quick to slide in and gut it in between the broad belly scales," Hick replied, finally sitting up. "Of course, it'd be best to kill them before they morph into their real form. We have a flight to catch in… fifty-six minutes. About an hour from now. So just make a quick kill if you really have to."

 _Just make a quick kill,_ Nico replayed that last phrase in his mind. He shook his head and pinched the flesh between his furrowed brows. She makes it seem as if killing monsters is no big deal, like the equivalent of taking a dump in the loo.

* * *

At the waiting area, just before boarding time, Hick sat in awkward silence next to Nico, guarding all five of their backpacks as Hazel, Jason and Percy went off to the toilet.

"Fancy a banana?" she asked, whipping one out from her jacket's pocket.  
"No."  
"Come on~ The best banana in the world~" Hick cooed, poking the yellow fruit into the boy's sides.  
"Just because I'm younger doesn't automatically mean I'm stupider."

Hick pocketed her banana in shame.

"I was just offering."  
"Look, I'm sorry. I just – "  
"Oh my gods! Dude, 9 o'clock. Totally cute guy checking you out."

Nico looked over at the neighbouring row of seats and flushed a deep shade of red. A tall lean guy, with feathery light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes was looking in his direction. And he was smiling. Nico immediately averted his eyes and look at Hick.

"I-I'm not gay!"  
Hick stared back at him. The poor boy looked like a kid caught trying to steal cookies out of the cookie jar. "Uh… I didn't say you were. But, I have to admit, I knew you were one the moment I laid eyes on you. You remind me a lot of José when he was still in the closet."  
"José? Is he the boy Jason told us about? The one who was bullied a lot? He's gay?"  
"Yep. And we're still best chums. In fact, I'm in the same… no. I was in the same college as him. Now I'm stuck here doing some stupid mission. Woah, seriously, that guy is totally checking you out."  
"P-Promise you won't tell Percy about this!"  
"What? About that guy? I don't think Percy's gay. And even if he is, he's not going to be much of a competition. You're more that guy's type."  
"No! Not that! About me being… you know…"  
"What? Gay?"  
"Shh!"

Hick shrugged.

"Suit yourself. But don't keep it in too long, and let it burden you so. Homophobes aren't exactly a dying breed today, but people are way cooler now. You shouldn't feel ashamed."

* * *

The plane gave another jolt and Nico lost grip over his packet of roasted peanuts. Darn, he cursed inwardly, watching helplessly as his snack scattered onto the floor. Percy was nervous. They were in Zeus' territory now. There he sat, with Hick and Nico opposite him. Jason and Hazel were seated next to them, separated by the walk path.

"Alright, kiddo. Don't sulk," Hick laughed, ruffling the head of a distraught Nico as she handed him her packet of peanuts. "Here, you can have mine."

To Percy's surprise and delight, Nico accepted Hick's kind gesture and began munching on the roast peanuts.

"Hey, Hick?" Nico looked to the redheaded girl.  
"Yeah?"  
"Why didn't you use any of your powers… or the gift from that titan for combat?"  
"Too destructive," Hick shrugged.  
"How'd you know you were the daughter of Hades?"  
"Dad claimed me one night, when I was thirteen and about to get hit by a truck on the road just in front of the house."  
"Then is it possible for you to fall in love with Jason? As a daughter of Hades?"

All eyes were on Jason, who was starting to turn red. Percy stared suspiciously at the duo under speculation.

"Oh, I plan to marry him some day," Hick replied sarcastically. "We'll have a wedding on a starry night at the tip of a cliff in Barbados."  
"Why the tip of a cliff?"  
"So I can jump to my death."  
"Hey!" Jason protested.

To Hick's horror, Nico continued with his barrage of questions. Does she like Ryan then? (Hick was too stunned to answer that.) Why couldn't she defend herself well against Drew? (Hick tried not to choke him to death then.) Why couldn't she sense the monsters around them after all her experience with killing monsters? (Oh, she really wanted to smash open the window and squeeze this pale little man-boy through it and let him plummet to his death.)

Hick decided against strangling Nico to death and wore the headphones provided on board, deciding to watch some movies.

Nico observed quietly as Hick struggled with the movie selection on her TV screen. Some car racing game appeared on the screen, and all the other racings cars were whizzing pass her stationary vehicle. _Ugh! How the hell do you work the damn thing?_ Hick cursed inwardly, pressing frantically on every button. She was evidently growing more and more frustrated by the second, especially under the other demi-gods' scrutiny.

"You're not using it properly," Nico commented calmly.  
"How about I properly punch you?" Hick snapped back and everyone sniggered, much to her consternation.

Percy couldn't believe what was happening. It was the first time in a long time since Nico talked that much. But ever since his sister Bianca's death, Nico got bonier, quieter and paler. His conditioned worsened especially when Gaea held him captive as a prisoner of war. He looked like those lifeless, skeletal Jews in those black-and-white war photos. But now, it seems as if he's slowly reverting back to his old self, talking his head off and eating well again. Even if it was just a packet of roasted peanuts. It was as if he was becoming that same cheerful, annoying kid Percy knew during the Great Prophecy.

Nico was about to open his mouth to reply Hick when the plane gave another one of its jolts. It was much bigger this time. The lights flickered off, plunging the plane in utter darkness. There was a strike of lightning and the dim lights came back on. Something felt off.

"It's Zeus," Hick sighed.  
Jason frowned. "What does my dad want?"  
"This is our cue to get off," Hick replied, picking up the backpack from under her seat.  
"WHAT?" Her teammates stared at her in disbelief. A flight stewardess pushing a squeaky trolley down the aisle shushed at them.  
"Nico, Hazel, can you guys shadow travel into the ocean beneath us?" They nodded.  
Hick turned to Percy. "I'll trust you keep us alive down there, buddy." He gave a thumb up.

"Where are we going?" Jason asked, reaching for his own backpack under his seat. Hick turned to him. "We're going to meet Oceanus."

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Intruder Alert**

The cold, dark water enveloped the five demi-gods, and Percy immediately dispensed oxygen bubbles to everyone's aid. What greeted the five in them in sight was utter chaos. Ruins and rubble were floating everywhere mid-water, constituting what Hick believes to be the now ruined walls of the tall, majestic citadel towering just before them. _Danger_ , the shadows cautioned her. Hick reached for the brass knuckles in her pocket. Her teammates followed suit, drawing their weapons.

Everyone met Hick's eyes. They could not converse underwater, but her dull violet eyes spoke to them. _Stay safe._  
Grabbing hold of Jason, Hick willed the shadows of the ocean to propel them forward into the battle raging behind the citadel. Hazel and Nico followed suit, while Percy activated his water propulsion and shot ahead of them, leaving behind a trail of bubbles.

The water was murky with blood. Percy stared in despair at the bloody remains of sea serpents, sharks and other sea creatures floating mid-air. These were sea creatures he knew, sea creatures that served him well in Poseidon's domain and called themselves his subjects. He wanted to hurl.

Hick finally caught up and released her grasp on Jason's arm, ostensibly unfazed by the butchered remains floating, covering the landscape. It seems that they arrived a few minutes shy of the real battle to witness the aftermath of it. Jason nudged Hick's arm urgently, trying to alert her to something.

"What?!" Hick exclaimed, to which Jason could not hear. She sighed. She forgot that sound could not travel through water. Following Jason's gaze, she saw a creature slowly making its way towards Percy.

Hick squinted her eyes at it through the foggy, crimson water. She had never seen anything like it before in her life. It looked like an incredibly mean, angry bee. And it didn't help that it was elephantine in size… and terribly injured. There were gills at the side of their faces, translucent wings that acted like fins to help it glide through water, and worst of all, the sharp canine teeth it had, frothing with blood and saliva. Rather shakily, it raised one of its feeble legs, ready to run the sharp end of it through Percy.

 _No! Percy!_ Hick thought in despair, hurtling towards it while Jason following close behind. Grabbing the leg of the monster, Hick propelled forward and turned around, punching the sea bug's green compound eyes repeatedly. Blood squirted out of the sea bug's eyes from the impact of the brass knuckles and it finally pushed Hick away, grimacing in pain. It was wounded and evidently blind as its limb flailed about frantically, but it was far from dead. All of a sudden, the monster gave a jolt, and a blade protruded from its chest. Jason's head poked out from behind. This was her chance.

Hick signalled Jason to get down and willed her brass knuckles to morph into machine guns. Jason's face disappeared from behind the monster as soon as he realized what Hick planned to do. Feeling the triggers on her index fingers, Hick pulled hard and shot two streams of angry bullets at the bug that was struggling to turn and lash at the person behind who was wielding the sword. Seconds later, it gave one last shudder and finally succumbed to death, falling flat on its face to reveal Jason curled up in a ball from behind, palms pressed to his ears. Realizing that it was finally over, the son of Zeus swam over to the defeated creature and drew his sword out of the carcass, sheathing it.

Hazel, Nico and Percy caught up to the scene and stared at the creature Hick had just slain. They were never taught in camp about the existence of such a creature. Everyone was puzzled.

 _Hick Valkyrie. I've been awaiting your arrival,_ a voice boomed in the demi-god's heads. Everybody jumped in surprise at the sudden telepathic conversation.  
All of a sudden, a dark shadow fell upon them and the weary demi-gods looked up. Hick pulled Hazel and Nico behind her back. Towering over them was what appears to be a monstrously mountainous merman, with upper body of a muscular man and the lower torso of a sea serpent. He had an iron grip on a magnificent trident, and his white beard moved with the ebb and flow of the ocean current. Hick could see the wrinkles etched across the merman's face, like the parched thirsty landscapes of dry continents.

Percy recognized the merman. It was Oceanus, the titan who almost succeeded in killing Poseidon. He looked much weaker compared to when Percy last saw him, as if the titan was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He thought the titan would be sneering at him in contempt, but his eyes looked too fatigued and weary to bother… like his life was being drained out of him.

 _As you can see, my temple has been under attack. The war has been raging on for months. I have lost my kingdom and many lives. What you just killed, daughter of Hades, is an unknown specie that encroached upon my territory and killed most of my subjects, as well as the reinforcements Poseidon sent,_ the titan continued. _It is a breed clearly destructive by nature, with the goal to wipe out every living being in this world. We suspect a creation by Gaea, before the gods banished her back into Tartarus. The humans' lives are at stake here, along with the gods, the titans… even the protogenois. I've been informed by them to bestow on you what has been in my possession for a long time._ With that, the titan beckoned the demi-gods to follow him.

They arrived at what appeared to be graveyard of sunken war submarines. They were green with moss, and spotted with barnacles.  
 _What are we suppose to do with these?_ Percy asked.  
 _These are sunken battleships from the war the humans once waged. You call it the 'World War II'. I gathered these ruins upon the goddess of war and wisdom, Athena's request, knowing a child of Hades would need an army of the undead when the Lone Prophecy was announced._

Ignoring the telepathic conversation going on, Hazel tugged at Nico and Hick, swimming over to one of the warships. Before Hick could stop her, Hazel had disappeared into the submarine, pulling Nico along with her. Hick was about to swim after them when something caught her eye. There were white, capital letters on the submarine: SHE. Ever so lightly, Hick brushed the barnacles away.

**THRESHER SSN-593**

That was the label of the submarine; one of the many submarines that sunk and snuffed out the lives of several men that were inadvertently embroiled in the ugliness of the war. Hick traced the 'T' with her index finger, feeling a little mournful.

What happened next was too abrupt for Hick to fathom. The barnacles on the submarine withered and fell off the submarine, and brand new metal seemed to bloom and spread from beneath the rust that Hick touched, slowly unfurling across and blanketing the rest of the submarine. She drew her hand back, gaping in awe as THRESHER rose from the ground, gleaming in the moonlight.

 _Hazel! Nico!_ Hick realized. In a flash, she shot herself through the gap on THRESHER's side before it closed up upon its repair. The power of the shadows left her upon entering the now lit up submarine and she dropped to the floor.

"Welcome aboard, ma'am."

Hick looked up. It was another one of those undead warriors she had seen when she summoned a pack to her rescue against an army of monsters during her grade five camp. Reaching out for his skeletal hand, she picked herself up and let him unload the waterproof backpack she had been carrying. She looked at the nametag stitched into his uniform.

**MATTHEW ANDREWS**

"What about the other submarines, ma'am? Would you like to summon them for your venture?" Matthews asked. Hick looked at the gaping hollow eyes of the skeleton sailor that stood before her, and out of the window at the undead peering out of their ruined submarines, apparently awakened by her arrival. They looked so feeble and sad, as if they were still worn out from having fought the second world war, even after all these years.

"No. I hereby lay these brave sailors' souls to rest in the underworld." With that, the undead sailors peering up at her from the seabed turned into black smoke that dissolved into nothingness.

Hick surveyed her surroundings. Undead soldiers in American sailor uniform in the submarine she was in were busy operating the submarine. Hick felt uneasy. This was not right. The undead should be resting in peace in the underworld, not working as war slaves for her. It was one of the reasons why she would only summon the undead to her aid at the very last resort.

"Hick, look!" Nico called out, standing before one of those many circular submarine windows that offered them a view of the ocean. There was Percy, Jason and Oceanus, squinting at them. Oceanus had noticed the disappearance of the undead, realizing that Hick had laid them to rest. What a waste, rejecting the aid of a great, powerful army of the undead. Oceanus had never seen someone act so kindly, yet so foolishly. The heavenly beings would not be pleased the warrior's choice, especially the protogenois.

Hick immediately shadow travelled to where Percy and Jason were. _Sorry,_ she apologized to Oceanus. _I was side-tracked by my siblings' mischief._

 _Do not be, daughter of Hades. Your arrival is a relief, for this war has been raging on for far too long. I only have so much to tell you. You are the only one prophesied to solve this sudden mystery and remedy the situation. Go forth now. I shall watch over you, lone warrior,_ the titan replied graciously with a smile, bowing down to her. With that, Hick returned the gesture with a thumb up and grabbed onto Percy and Jason, shadow travelling them back into the submarine.

* * *

Percy tossed and turned in his bunk bed, unable to sleep. One of the undead sailors had shown them to an empty bunkroom, where they were to rest. Jason had offered to stay up first and keep watch of any signs of attack against the submarine.  
Percy was unable to shake off the ghastly images of his dead subjects, floating in smithereens and chunks in the bloody water. He heard a whimper from the bunk bed beside him and sat up. It was Hick. She was lying on her side, facing him. He could see her face contorted into a grimace of anguish and fear, beads of sweat rolling down her face.

"Hick?" Percy slipped out of his bed and rushed over to her bedside.

* * *

Hick looked up at giant that stood before her, disgusted at the sight of his rotting teeth and black, beady eyes as the mud coloured giant sneered at her. His body was etched with tattoos and he held a spiked club in his right. He raised his left hand and settled two goblets of wine before her.  
"Drink up," the giant hissed, globs of saliva flying out onto his chin through the gaps in his teeth. "One is poisoned, another is not. Choose the one not untainted, demi-god, and I'll let you live."

Without a word, Hick leapt up at the giant, gouging his left eye out with her hands. She scrambled into the giant's body through his hollow socket, finding her way into his beating heart, just like how she killed the horrible Cyclops that Zeus once sent to her. With her fist, she punctured the heart, feeling the heart pulsating slower and losing its life. Sure that it was dead, Hick reached crawled her way through the gullet, emerging through the giant's mouth.

She looked down at the dead giant, her body slimy with blood and saliva. And she trudged on in what appeared to be a dry, barren land with nothing in sight except the cave that was standing before her. Hick squinted at the mouth of the cave. There were people waiting for her. "Ryan? José?" Recognizing her friends, Hick broke into a sprint. "Guys!"

They were waving at her. As she got nearer, they disappeared into the cave. "Hey, guys! Wait up!" she yelled. She stopped at the entrance of the cave, hesitant to enter. She looked around. Nobody was in sight. As quietly as she could, she stepped into the cave. A body of water greeted her, and a stone path divided it into two semi-circles. There was a lady in the middle of the stone path, standing in front of what appeared to be a black, oval egg. She had the same flaming red hair as Hick, tied up into a messy ponytail.

"Mom? What're you doing here?"  
She looked Hick up and down, and gave her a sad smile. The green flames of the underworld appeared, surrounding Hick's mother.

"No! Mom!" Hick screamed, stepping onto the stone path as she realized what was about to happen. She ran towards her. "Mom! No, you can't! You can't leave!"

The flames engulfed her and she was gone. Hick tripped and collapsed onto the stone path, sobbing. "No… Mom, please! Come back! COME BACK!" Her sobs echoed throughout the hollow cave as the egg that stood silently before her, in her line of sight where her mother once stood.

* * *

Hick gasped and opened her eyes. There was Percy, shaking her awake.

"Hick, you alright?"  
"I… I… Mom… M-Mom! Mom!" Hick sputtered as she sat up, the nightmare still fresh in her head. Her white shirt was utterly soaked with her perspiration.  
"Hick, calm down. It's fine. Your mom's fine. Here, have some water," Percy said, uncapping his metal tank and pressing it on Hick's lips. "You were having a nightmare. It's okay now, Hick. Everything's fine."  
Hick gulped the water down her parched throat, handing back a half-empty tank of water to Percy. She heart was racing from the trauma she had just experienced in her dream. What had it all mean?

"You know what? Let's get you out of bed for now," Percy said, still seeing the anxiety in Hick's eyes, so different from the calm and collected person he knew could kill that weird bug creature underwater without a grimace of some sort. It scared him a little. "Come on, let's go."

Hick still looked pale and petrified from the nightmare, but she held her composure as she listened to the undead sailors who had bumped into her and Percy when they were making their way to the pantry. One of the sailors had reported sighting an insect-like sea creature through the periscope and Jason confirmed it was exactly the one he and Hick had slain.

Percy watched as Hick looked through the periscope. "It's limping badly. Hold fire and follow it for now," she smiled at the sailor.  
"Yes, ma'am," the skeleton sailors saluted her, heading off to perform their various duties. "What's the point of following it?" Jason asked.  
"It'll most likely lead us to its hideout to recuperate. We need to find that hideout and exterminate the whole lot of them from there. I believe we're armed on this submarine?" "A few dozen torpedoes and two ballistic missiles, ma'am," one of the sailors piped up. "Got it," Hick forced a smile at the cheerful undead sailor, giving him a thumb up.

Leaving it at that, she headed for the door out of the operation unit. All that anxiety from the nightmare had sapped the energy out of her. There came the sound of quick, light footstep heading toward her.

Percy grabbed her wrist, "Come on, we're going outside. Let me show you something."

"Not now, Percy. Please? I need to sleep."  
"Just this once, and we'll be back quick. I promise! I'll put a huge oxygen bubble around and you'll be totally dry, and once we come back, you can totally hit the sack right away. Cross my heart, hope to die!" Hick watched in amusement as Percy held up three fingers in solemn oath.  
She relented, "Fine. Five minutes."  
She reached her hand out to Percy and he grabbed it, forming an oxygen bubble around both of them. In a heartbeat, Hick had settled both of them atop the submarine, wisps of black smoke from the shadow travel dissipating into thin air.

Percy sat himself down on the submarine's cold metal, absolutely at ease in his domain. Colourful schools of fishes swam toward them. Some had managed to dodge the protective barrier of the oxygen bubble, while some were unfortunate enough to crash into the invisible barrier and recline in shock, sending the other fishes behind into a flurry frenzy. He gave a small sigh of relief as Hick finally laughed, utterly amused by the slapstick comicality of those busy, bumbling fishes. She turned to face him. "Did you see that?! Oh gosh, Percy! Did you see that?! Did you see their faces?!"

Percy laughed as Hick mimicked the fishes expression and head bobble.  
"Yeah, they do give the stupidest expressions, don't they?"  
Hick wiped the tears of laughter with her sleeves, gasping for breath. "Haa... You brought me up here to see this?"  
"No… actually, I brought you up to see what's above us."

Hick followed Percy's line of gaze. In the shimmering navy blue waters above the submarine, millions of luminous pink and purple dots floated above them. Hick lay down and rested her head down on the submarine's roof, staring up at the beauty of it all. "What are those?"

"Jellyfishes."

 _Jellyfishes,_ Hick thought. They reminded her of the stars that constituted the Milky Way in space, except that they glowed gently instead of sparkling so harshly.

"Thanks for saving my life back then, Hick. I really owe you one."  
A pause. "You saw how long it took me to kill that bug, right? Jason had to help." "Hick, it was the first time any of us encountered that weird... swimming bee thing. You reacted the fastest, before it could – "  
"Not unless there were a dozen of them. I'm not as great as you think I am, Percy. I don't know this species' weakness, its motive, why it attacked Oceanus' citadel... You're right. That thing is not like those mythical beasts I've fought against on the streets. Not that I had fun doing with those buggers, but at least they were familiar."  
"Hick, you're not figuring all this out alone. There's Jason, Nico, Hazel... and me. We'll figure this out together. As a team."

A smile spread across Hick's lips. It was one those smiles that seemed indecisive about what emotion to show.

A shadow fell upon them and the smile turned into a gape. Hick sat up, watching in awe as a magnificent whale swam above them, chasing away the colourful schools of fishes. It seemed to have noticed Hick and Percy, and with a flip of a tale, had swam down to journey beside the demi-gods.

"You can touch him," Percy urged Hick. Reaching out, Hick felt the tip of her fingers followed by the rest of her arm permeate the barrier of the bubble and feel the cold currents of the ocean water. The bubble was still intact. Reaching out further, Hick patted the sides of the huge whale, and it belted a low, nasal note.

Hick looked over her shoulder, smiling at Percy. _Do you see this?_ Her eyes seemed to say, as they shone with pure delight. She watched as the whale nuzzled its huge head against her hand. "Hey, big guy," Hick whispered, stroking the whale. She looked up at the glowing jellyfishes above her, once again having the gorgeousness of it all take her breath away.

"No matter what the prophecy says… Hick… you won't die. I won't let you," Percy whispered, grabbing hold of her hand.

She withdrew her hand from the whale that moaned in protest and turned to look at him. Percy shifted uncomfortably. The way she looked into his eyes, as if reading into his soul, made him nervous.

And she could feel it. He was lying. She knew how their life was going to be like, their destiny as demi-gods. Once they enter Camp Half-Blood, they'll keep going on missions, defending the lives of gods and keeping the world safe, until one final day they'll encounter an enemy too strong to conquer and the result… is death. That was why she didn't want to go to Camp Half-Blood.

"I promise," Percy insisted, interrupting Hick's morbid thoughts.  
"I know, Percy," she replied. Her hand slipped away from underneath he is.  
Both of them blushed, hearts beating hard against their chest and they looked away in embarrassment. Percy hadn't realized he had held her hand.

He tried to change the subject. "How'd you get those brass knuckles?"  
"It was a gift from Phoebe. Annabeth said it was big deal, having a titan interfere in a demi-god's business."  
"Well, it is a first in Camp Half-Blood's history."  
"How about that pen of yours?"  
Percy took Riptide out of his pocket. "A gift from my dad, Poseidon. His name is Riptide."  
"Huh. Obviously not as cool as my weapon!"  
"Hey! It has feelings, okay…" Percy protested, pouting as he pocketed Riptide.

Hick laughed at the sight of his face. "Oh gods. Seriously? You look like a baby seal."  
From the submarine, Jason was witnessing the whole scene from the periscope: the hand holding, the blush and the laughter.

"You don't think Percy likes Hick… do you?"

Jason immediately shifted the periscope back to the sea bug that was still on the move and turned to find Hazel peering over his shoulders. Her eyes were still red and puffy from having just woken up, and her tight curls were sticking out in all directions like the metal springs of a wrecked alarm clock.

He checked his watch. It was almost seven o'clock in the morning. The rays of the sun were starting to filter through the wall of jellyfishes.

"I don't think it's that simple… Percy's love for Annabeth is stronger than you think, Hazel. He's known Annabeth years, been through life and death with her during the Great Prophecy and the Prophecy of Seven..." Jason replied, but he didn't find his tone so convincing. After what he had witnessed, he felt unsure. He sighed and stood up, taking a break from periscope. "I think it's best we pretend we saw nothing. You keep watch on that… bee… freak... thing now. I'll be in bed if anyone needs me."

* * *

Nico heard footsteps approaching and poked his head out of the cupboard. It was Hick.

"Hey, Hick! Over here!" he whispered. Hick saw him and immediately approached him, squeezing into the cupboard with him. She had wanted to grab a bite in the pantry and go back to her hiding place in the storeroom, but being with Nico wasn't so bad.

"Man, Hazel is so bad at this!" Hick giggled, closing the cupboard door on them. "She just passed me by when I was laying down on one of the empty shelves in the storeroom."  
"Where's Jason hiding at?"  
"I caught a glimpse of him running around the second level. Probably hiding out at the maze in our sparring quarters."

The door creaked open and Hick signalled Nico hold his giggles in. "Hick, you here? I think we've found the creature's hideout," Percy called out from the door. Hick burst out of the cupboard, what traces of glee that showed on her face before now completely gone.

Along the corridor, Hick, Percy and Nico bumped into Hazel and Jason as headed towards the control unit. Something was up.

Beyond the pane of the submarine windows, a tall black fortress towered over THRESHER. It was definitely not of nature's creation. It looked too carefully constructed… too manmade for Hick's comfort.

"Let's launch a torpedo at its base and topple it over," Nico suggested.  
"What if they come swarming out?" Jason asked.  
"That won't be a problem. I've got another idea," Hick said, looking up from the periscope. "Hazel, Nico. You guys know how to perform illusions?"

Nico shook his head but Hazel shrugged.

"If you mean Mist Manipulation, sure I can do that."

* * *

Controlling the Mist to make them look like two schools of sardines, Hick and Hazel managed to infiltrate the fortress without alerting the enemy. They kept close to the ceiling, trying not to bump into any of the bugs that were drifting about. They seemed to be moving in the same direction. Hick beckoned Hazel to trail the bugs.

After a while, Hick and Hazel found themselves entering a grand hall. Bugs were everywhere. They were forming lines toward a row of bigger, fatter bugs, which Hick suspects to be Hive Queens. They were queuing up to mate with the queens and fertilise their eggs, before the queens bit their head off. Hick caught Hazel's eyes and they exchanged looks of disgust.

 _Is this it?_ Hazel looked to Hick.

Hick nodded. _Since they looked like bees, I suspected they worked like bees. Kill the queen… that's one way to send the male bug workers into a stampeding frenzy, if I recall what I learnt in Entomology 101 correctly._

So the more disorderly and disoriented the colony gets, the longer it'll take for the colony to react when a torpedo heads their way,

Hazel concluded.

Hick took out her brass knuckles, morphing them into machine guns. That was Hazel's cue to carry out her duty. She swam out of one of the grand hall's windows, waiting for Hick's signal. Within seconds, Hick had shot the Queens to death, splattering blood all over the Queens' platform. A blood bath was in session. She signaled Hazel to carry out the next course of action.

A hundred meters away, Nico saw three short flashes of light given off by Hazel from Hick's torchlight at the centre of the fortress. "Stand by for attack at the fortress' mid-section," Nico instructed the undead sailors.

"Copy that, sir. Locking down on target."

A few seconds later, two long flashes were given off at the roof of the fortress. That was Hick's cue to commence the attack. "Okay. Open fire," Nico reported.

"Roger. Launching torpedo in three… two… one…"

Everyone from the submarine watched as the torpedo shot through the water towards the fortress. Nico Death Sense triggered, and he felt the end of numerous lives. "Well done, team. We've killed a significant amount of them."

Everyone cheered and clapped in the submarine.

Back at where the fortress once stood, delight turned to horror as Hick stared at what she had done. The fortress was falling apart, but that was not what bothered her. It was mere dozens of survivors scuttling out of the fortress: bug workers and infant bugs, swimming for their lives. There were decapitated bugs, writhing in pain... infant bugs gathered around dead bug soldiers, poking and tugging at them as if trying to wake them... Something was wrong with the picture. She'd seen it before. It was the same nightmare she had back at college camp, before Ryan woke her up... before she left. But instead of people, there were bugs. Piles and piles of bug corpses were tumbling out of the fortress that gave way. "Hick! We did it! We - " Hazel stopped as soon as she saw the look Hick's face. Something felt off about Hick. She wasn't concentrating on manipulating the Mist around her anymore, and some bug workers were starting to notice her presence. Hazel knew she had to get her sister away. Grabbing onto the petrified girl, Hazel shadow travelled both of them back to THRESHER.

Upon their return, sailors and demi-gods alike were either patting Hick on the back or high-fiving her. Nobody noticed the horror Hick had felt, as she concealed it with her smile. Nico, Jason and Percy were outside the submarine now, guarding the submarine for any impending attack. Hick frowned. What she had anticipated did not occur. Why were they fleeing instead of appointing a new queen and attacking the submarine? Where were they fleeing to?

"What should our next course of action be, ma'am?" Matthew asked, awaiting orders.

Hick looked into the hollow sockets of his eyes. She couldn't read his expression, but it felt like he was looking into her soul... as if he was judging her. _Stop over-thinking._ "The bugs aren't attacking. Call back the guys and we'll trail the survivors," she finally said, wiping the cold beads of sweat that ran down the sides of her face.

After a few minutes of trailing the remaining alien insectoid, what Hick saw next petrified her. A huge trail of bugs that snaked its way across the ocean bed, heading towards one direction, and the swarm of bugs the submarine was tailing had merged with the trail. Hundreds of other bug swarms were arriving at all directions to join the line as well, scuttling frantically along with the rest of the sea bugs.

"Oh no," Jason groaned.  
"There are millions of them," Percy exclaimed. Hick could see his eyes widen with shock. How are they to end this huge war?

"How shall we proceed from here, ma'am?" Matthew asked.  
"Don't launch any attack, Anderson. Trail the line and find the front of it as soon as possible. I'll manipulate the Mist, so get up close. I think we have a lot more on our plate than we bargained for," Hick turned to face the rest of the crew and her teammates with the best smile she could muster. "Take a break for now, guys. You did well."

**To be continued.**


	6. Chapter 6

**The First Battle**

Hick paced the floors of the control unit back and forth, feeling awfully anxious. It was almost evening and they were still trailing the huge migrating group of what Hick has decided to call 'bugs'. Everyone else had left the control unit, so it was just she and the undead sailors keeping tight watch over where the trail of bugs were going. Some of the terribly injured fell behind as the pack moved on, quivering in pain while some bugs watched on helplessly before continuing on their journey.

" _For Oceanus, swim, swim, swim again.  
Thou see the what but not the when." _

Hick recited the first half of Phoebe's prophecy in her head while she focused on manipulating the Mist. The bugs had yet to realize they were being tailed. All they saw in place of the submarine was a group of harmless dolphins following them out of curiosity. She had to be missing something Phoebe was trying to tell her. What "when" is she not seeing? Hick sighed, scratching her head in frustration.

One of the undead sailors approached her. It was Matthew, the same sailor that welcomed her aboard and showed her around the submarine.  
"Ma'am, it's been six hours. Perhaps you should rest."  
Silence.  
"Ma'am?"  
"Not now, Matthew."  
"You know, I may have been dead for a long time, but I still haven't forgotten that the living needs to EAT."

Hick looked up at Matthew, a little taken aback by his sudden display of humour. His white, skeleton hands were carrying a tray of freshly cooked, piping hot spaghetti mixed in with neat, square pieces of cooked salmon. "I don't remember packing salmon along for this trip. What happened to the hot dogs?"  
"In the fridge Nico got some underworld folks to build. Percy caught the salmon. You know… just in case we ran out of food."  
"Is that coffee?" Hick frowned at the cup of steaming brown liquid.  
"Yeah… Nico didn't just construct a fridge… He added a lower hull to the submarine to install the new barista bar and a bigger resident quarter."

Hick gaped at Matthew. "What the heck is Nico doing? Building a hotel? This isn't some Tiny Tower game! It's gonna slow the submarine down, isn't it? I told him strictly to reconstruct the windows and he comes up with this whole bunch of _crap_!" A chorus of deep chuckles echoed the control room as the undead sailors try to muffle their laughter at Hick's outburst.

"Oh the speed isn't a cause for concern, ma'am. He took care of the engine power," Matthew replied. Hick's jaw dropped. What used to be a vessel for battle was fast becoming some sort of luxury cruise.

The door to the control unit opened, revealing Hazel. All the undead sailors turned to look at her, before resuming their work. There stood Hick in the middle of the control room, with Matthew still holding onto her tray of food.

"You know, you should really eat that. It's getting cold."  
"Then I'll heat it up later."  
"Hick…"  
"Ugh! I know! In a minute, mom!" Hick groaned.

It was obvious she wasn't going to budge.

Hazel sighed and stepped into the room. Matthew stepped aside and all the undead sailors turned to look at the two Hades girls, catching onto the strange vibe Hick was finally unintentionally emitting. Hazel slowly made her way over to the girl who was too busy taking command of the submarine to even turn and face her.

"Something is up. Hick, tell me what happened to you back there."

"Nothing happened to me. What're you talking about?" Hick replied, trying to avoid her comrade's big, wide, puppy eyes; the kind of eyes that'd make anyone want to succumb to the cuteness and spill out all their secrets. A momentary flashback of Percy puppy/baby seal eyes popped up in Hick's mind. It was when they were watching the jellyfishes on the submarine's roof. She took a peek of the scenery through the submarine windows. There were no jellyfishes in sight.

"I don't know," Hazel said, bringing Hick out of her reminiscing and back into reality. "You seemed really out of sorts out there, when we pulled down the fortress and killed the queens."

For a second, Hazel thought she saw Hick's face turned dark. But then a wide grin spread across Hick's face and she laughed, ruffling Hazel's head of bouncy curls like always, as if she were a little kid.

"Oh Haze! That's what you're worried about? It's nothing! I'm fine!"

Hazel pursed her lips. If she knew Hazel was actually 86 years old, she wouldn't be treating her like a senseless little sister. It didn't assuage her frustration when Hick had chuckled at the sight of her disgruntled expression and put her arm around her shoulders.

"I promise, Haze. I'm really glad you're worried about me. It shows you care, and you're kind of the closest thing I've got to a sister. I really enjoyed your company, and…" Hick chuckled, retrieving a happy memory. "… and all that hide-and-seek games we played at the lower hull. But I'm fine. I swear."

Hazel inhaled deeply, slowly digesting Hick's words. "Okay. I trust you," she finally relented after a while, smiling up at Hick.

Jason slurped up his spaghetti, his eyes darting wearily between Nico and Percy. There was definitely an air of tension between the two, and without Hick or Hazel around, Jason wasn't quite sure what to do. Out of everyone in the submarine, only he knew Nico secretly loved Percy in a romantic way.

"So… uh… we've been fairly inactive in combat this mission, eh? I mean… you know… so far…" Percy finally spoke up awkwardly, twirling his fork in the pile of spaghetti out of nervousness.

Nico looked up at him and as soon as he met Percy's gaze, he immediately averted his eyes and looked down at his unfinished food. He hated how hard it was, getting over his first love.

"Why isn't Hick here yet?" Nico asked in exasperation, turning to Jason and ignoring Percy's comment.  
Jason shrugged. "She's been focusing on trailing the bugs ever since we destroyed the fortress. Did you see how many bugs swarmed out of that huge fortress? It's a good thing Hick figured out killing those bug queens would make them so disoriented and defenceless."

"I really wonder why Gaea created them. They don't seem fatally destructive," Percy commented.

All of sudden, the door of the much spacious and refurnished pantry burst open, revealing an utterly alarmed Hazel. "Guys! You've got to check this out!"

* * *

"You really shouldn't be doing this, ma'am," Matthew pleaded Hick nervously, scratching his white skull with his bony fingers as Hick puts on the closed-circuit scuba diving equipment with the help of the other undead sailors. Hick looked through the submarine window. Bug after bug after bug was disappearing behind some invisible force field, as if teleporting to another place. "It's better if I just go alone. Don't sweat yourself over it."

"But we have no idea what that is, and what danger it may bring. You can't just go swimming into that thing!"  
Hick tightened the harness around her waist, her gaze fixated on the trail of bugs. "Trust me, Matt. I'm pretty sure it's one of the realms Okeanos connects the human world to. It doesn't feel like Hades' domain, and it is definitely not Olympus they're charging into to attack. They have no queen to help them coordinate one."  
"Then where do you think the portal leads?"  
"Most likely a place to recuperate and get a bunch of new queens. If my hunch is right, I've got to stop that nonsense from happening. But if it isn't… there's only one way to find out," Hick shrugged. "I'm going in."

"Alone? What do I tell Hazel when she comes back with the others?"

Hick grinned cheekily at the undead sailor, tightening the harness around her waist. "Chill out, Mister Anderson. I'll be back after a peek. Is there enough breathing gas in the tank?" She hadn't answered his question. Matthew sighed and checked the pressure gauge. "It'll last you about eight hours or nine hours max, depending on your respiratory rate."  
"Alright… got my fins, weight belt, gas tank, mask and snorkel, alternative air source, brass knuckles…. Did I get it right? Anything else I'm missing?"  
"You're good to go, ma'am."  
"Awesome," Hick said, biting down on the mouthpiece. The shadows flickered and the lights of the submarine blinked. She was about to shadow travel.

"Ma'am?"  
"Yeah?" Hick replied, catching onto the anxiety in Matthew's voice.

All the undead sailors had gathered around behind him, their blank hollow sockets staring back at her. She couldn't see their facial expression because they are practically walking skeletons. But they were evidently concerned for her safety. She had barely talked to them throughout the entire journey. Most of the time, she was running past them in the corridor, playing hide-and-seek with Nico and Hazel. And there they were, standing before her, worrying for her.

"Be safe."  
"Aww, you guys! There's no need to worry!" she laughed. "I'm just scanning the area. I'll be back in less than five minutes, I promise!" And with that, she vanished into thin air.

The door burst open and the rest of the demi-gods filed into the room, missing Hick's departure.

"Woah. Is that it?" Jason exclaimed, walking towards the elongated submarine window Nico had installed.  
"Yeah, that's what Hick and I spotted," Hazel replied. "She suspects it's – "  
"A portal. One of the realms Okeanus contains," Nico finished her sentence, staring in awe and a tinge of horror at the sight of bugs disappearing behind some invisible force field. Percy scanned the room for Hick, but she was nowhere in sight. "Hey, where's Hick?"

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and the undead sailors shifted in their seats, exchanging glances with each other. Nico stared at them suspiciously. "You heard what he said. Where is Hick?"  
"Uh… guys... I think I know where she is…" Jason said, pointing to the school of sardine fishes swimming towards the portal. "Isn't that the same disguise Hick used when she invaded the fortress?"

* * *

The closer Percy got to the school of sardines, the thinner the Mist got. There was Hick in her usual brown jeans and Hazel's purple Camp Jupiter shirt, hovering just before the portal. She reached he hand out to touch the portal, exhaling nervously through the mouthpiece and releasing a flurry of bubbles.

 _No!_ Percy yelled, hurtling towards her. Of course, she couldn't hear him. Not under water. The moment her hand disappeared behind the portal, Hick decided it was safe and submerged half of her body through the portal. The very next second, Percy had hurled her out of the invisible portal before she could travel to another realm.

Hick instinctively slipped her fingers into one of her brass knuckles in her jean pocket and swung her fist at her attacker, unable to make out who was gripping her shoulders in the dark ocean, with all the bubbles from her mouthpiece blocking her visage. As soon as her view cleared, she saw Percy hovering before her, a chunk of flesh torn from his now badly gashed cheek. His skin was starting to close up around the wound, repairing itself at an alarming rate. Hick gaped at him in horror. After the damage she had done, he was still clutching onto her shoulders, refusing to let her go. He looked pretty angry. She was used to his sarcastic, laidback attitude, but not his angry side.

Hick took out her mouthpiece. _Sorry,_ she mouthed. He was still glaring at her.

 _SORRY?!_ Percy appeared to have echoed her furiously, wearing a look of incredulity and indignation.

Hick didn't know quite what to do, but she knew she needed to breathe so she popped her mouthpiece back into her mouth, keeping her weary eyes on Percy so she can duck in case he decides to suddenly let go of her shoulders and punch her in the face. He appeared to be shouting at her rather passionately, but she couldn't hear him. His face was contorted with rage and distress. Was he crying? She couldn't tell because they were submerged in ocean water. So she stared dumbly into his sea green eyes, not sure if she should break out of his grasp and swim away or just wait for him to finish.

Just a few feet away, Nico was hovering before them at the side, as he breathed through an oxygen bubble. The sight of Percy handling Hick so roughly and furiously shocked him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Percy's furious expression. Then, he met Hick's confused gaze, who seemed to have noticed his presence.

Confusion turned to horror and Hick broke out of Percy's grasp, swimming towards Nico as the one brass knuckle she had slipped on her right hand morphed into a machine gun. Nico turned. Swarms and swarms of bugs were approaching them. They seemed to have noticed their presence, especially since Hick became distracted by Percy's arrival and lost her control over the Mist. And hovering just before Nico was a very angry, bloodthirsty bug.

Before it could snap down and sink its teeth into its prey, Hick had yanked Nico back and slammed her machine gun into its face, opening fire and blasting its head into a million bloody smithereens. More bugs were starting to approach them, their compound eyes absolutely furious, insect legs poised to strike and sharp teeth gaping wide open to tear at demi-god flesh. Hick was confused. How on earth were they coordinating an attack? And then she saw it. A bug queen situated behind the army of worker bugs. She reared her had back and hissed, revealing her long, sharp, carnivorous teeth. Another had emerged from the portal, joining the battle.

The surrounding sea anemones and seaweed started to brown and wither away. Hick shuddered, feeling death instinctively radiate from her body. It was the same reaction her body naturally executed whenever she encountered a battle that would inevitably lead to the loss of lives. _Stay away,_ Hick warned them, causing some bugs to shrink back in fear. But many were still advancing. Percy fended off more bugs coming from the opposite direction by controlling what appeared to be huge, hardened water fists. He was crushing them in masses, but a few had managed to dodge his attacks and were closing in on him, ready to run their stick claws through her comrade. Hick shifted her gaze back to the approaching army of bugs in front of her, ready to tear her apart. _So it has come to this,_ thought Hick.

The ocean bed began to rumble and crack open. Within the deep fissures, there was lava. Armies and armies of the undead were crawling out of these thick fissures to aid Hick in her fight. Jason had meanwhile materialized on site with Nico to join the battle while Hazel stood guard at the submarine. He looked down at the ground beneath him and stared in horror at the ghost warriors Hick was summoning to her aid. Thousands and thousands of them were swimming up, butchering away at the bugs or pulling them down into the fiery depths of the underworld. A horde of them had taken down the two queen bees, stabbing away at the bugs.

Realising what was going on, Percy stopped his attack and looked in Hick's direction. There she was, mustering all the strength she had to bring the underworld soldiers into the living, breathing world. Her veins were starting to show around her arms and her body was quivering under the strain of suddenly calling on a huge surge of power. The enemy's number was diminishing greatly without a bug queen's aid, but there were still dozens left to deal with and she wasn't going to make it alive if she kept straining herself at this rate.

He grabbed onto her shoulder. _Enough!_ he yelled, but only a series of bubbles emerged. She couldn't hear him. The blood had drained from her skin, making her complexion immensely pale; it was almost to the same sickly pale skin tone Nico had. But that wasn't what horrified Percy. It was the sight of the veins protruding from her arms, creeping up her neck and onto her horribly pale face. It was as if something was wringing the life out of her. Her once lively violet eyes had faded into a cold, dead grey.

Jason swam over to Hick, taking her from Percy. Raising his hand, he swung it hard and smacked Hick in the face. It seemed to have worked as Hick jerked from the impact of the smack. She stared dumbly at Jason, trying to register what hit her. As the ocean bed began to close up, Hick's listless stare turned into a furious glare as she realised that Jason had smacked her.

Snatching up the extra mouthpiece she had to her additional air source, she jammed it hard into Jason's mouth and shot him a triumphant, but rather feeble smile as he choked on the mouthpiece. In the midst of immense danger, Nico was still able to laugh at the slapstick hilarity happening before them, although Percy remained unimpressed. The veins around Hick's face had shrunk back and disappeared beneath her skin. Nico's laughter didn't last for long. More bugs were arriving from the trail, and another queen bee had emerged from the portal. Unsheathing his sword, Nico swam off to combat the bug queen. All of a sudden, a huge army of sea nymphs had swooped out of nowhere and torn apart the bug queen's body with their bare hands right before his eyes, before swimming off to take on the approaching the worker bugs.

The next second, Hazel had appeared at the empty battlefield in wisps of black smoke. Taking everyone's hands in hers, she shadow travelled back into the submarine. Hick removed her mouthpiece, her complexion starting to revert back to its original healthy pink. "So my initial plan to take a peek into that realm has flopped," she remarked, unbuckling the belt that held the scuba diving equipment to her back.

"We don't know what's in there! You SAW how many queen bees were coming out of that thing. You could've died!" Percy roared. "What were you planning to do? Leave all of us behind?"  
"Oh, come on. It's not like it's bon freaking voyage. I was just going to peek and come back," Hick shrugged, wringing the water out of her shirt.  
"And thanks to that brilliant idea, you could've been dead by now!" Percy yelled.  
"Oh come on, Percy," scoffed Hick. "I shadow travel and hide in the Mist. I don't die easy."  
"Hey," Jason intervened, putting a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Why don't we just all take a deep - "  
"You are an IDIOT going out there on your own!" Percy yelled, shrugging of Jason's hand. "And so are those STUPID sailors who simply let you!"  
"Hey! Don't blame it on them! I just wanted to check out the portal first instead of sending the whole freaking submarine in!"  
"WE. ARE. A. TEAM. WE STICK TOGETHER!" Percy roared in Hick's face. And boy did she hated that.

"And DIE together? Percy, get a FREAKING EDUCATION!" Hick yelled, shrugging off her scuba diving gear and throwing the gas tank onto the floor. Everyone winced at the loud bang the gas tank made on impact with the submarine floor.

Percy was unfazed.

"You should've discussed this with us before you went off on your own!"  
"And what? Send the whole submarine into the portal without a plan? How are we supposed to find out anything about those stupid bugs if we don't infiltrate their territory in discrete? We'd all die without a plan!"  
"YOU COULD'VE DIED!"  
"DON'T CHANGE THE SUB - "  
"Guys!" Hazel yelled. Percy and Hick looked in her direction. "Poseidon's here."

Standing before them was a man in ancient Greek armour, looking absolutely unimpressed. One glance and Hick knew the man was a god. He reminded her of Percy a lot. They had the same aqua green eyes, dark rugged hair and chiselled good looks. And he was approaching her.

"Wow. A god. So what we need right now," Hick commented sarcastically, wringing the front of her shirt dry from the seawater.  
"Yes. What a pleasure to meet you too, Hick Valkyrie," Poseidon replied in the same bored, insincere fashion. "I have arrived at Oceanus' territory with my army, under the mutual agreement of all the gods and the titans, to help Oceanus fend off these insect-like species. The gods and the titans seek your audience in Olympus."

Everyone took the news in with a stunned silence in the air. Hick was now seething with rage. It didn't help that Poseidon was shooting her a disconcerted look.

"I don't understand," she said through gritted teeth. She was furious. "You guys dragged me out of college camp into this stupid mission to fulfil some bloody prophecies and I am THIS close to getting this madness over and done with for you. Now you want me to abandon my mission just because you guys want to seek my audience in freaking Olympus? If anyone in Olympus wants to chat me up, then download a freaking Skype app and send a video call to 'hugh_jazz_94' because I am VERY busy figuring out what's behind that portal and cleaning up your stupid shit!"

"You are not ready to enter that portal. Entering it would mean immediate death, even if you were to bring along thousands of ghost armies with you."  
"Why didn't you mention this before we went on this mission? You knew about this realm all along?" Jason asked, trying hard to hide his frustration.

"Not at all, son of Zeus. The gods and the titans have been closely following your progress and only discovered the realm when you did," Poseidon replied him calmly. "These monstrous insects aren't just a new mythical breed conjured up by Gaea – the titan of Mother Earth – in the human world. They consist of an entire civilisation that inhabits a whole planet in another dimension that Gaea had created. She knew the gods would overthrow the titans one day and dominate, so she birthed another world that she could nurture into destroying this world. This is not a mere battle against a titan like the Prophecy of Seven. This is not even a world war. Hick Valkyrie, you are fighting a war… the first war in human history, actually… between two worlds. The titans and the gods have doubts that you'd win a successful battle against a whole world of beasts with just one submarine and are desperately seeking your audience."

A deafening silence filled the submarine. Hazel slapped her hands over her mouth in shock and looked over at Hick. The redheaded girl had turned a greenish hue. "Damn this science fiction shit."

**To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Aid of Coeus**

**Hudson River, Manhattan, NY, USA.**  
Everything was pitch black. Hick chewed her bottom lip out of habit, sitting. Waiting. The slow, light thuds of footsteps grew louder. It was getting closer. And then it stopped.

A thin line of dazzling white light emerged before her. It hurt her eyes, and yet it grew thicker and thicker.  
The cabinet door creaked wide open, and Jason's faced popped into sight, his blonde locks capturing the pantry's white light. His electric blue eyes crinkled with glee at his discovery. "Come on out! A deal's a deal!"  
Hick buried her faces in her knees. She wanted to die.

* * *

Judging from the look on Jason's face, Hick could tell he wasn't going to go easy on her. She took a deep breath and raised her fists, positioned for combat. There they stood, within the confinements of the sparring quarters Nico had built in the submarine. The room was made entirely out of thick glass so passersby could watch whoever was training or sparring inside. Much to Hick's dismay, more than half the crew had crowded around to watch the practice match. She glanced nervously at the crowd. It wasn't too hard to spot Percy. He was the only one in the crowd not hollering his lungs out and pumping his fist into the air. A pang of guilt hit her, which really pissed her off. She hated being made to feel that way.

"You know, you and Percy should really make up. It's been two days, and frankly, he was right. You shouldn't have just left for the portal without telling us," Jason called out.

"Ugh! Not you too," Hick whined, obviously not wanting to touch that topic again. "I know, I know! It was dangerous! I'm just one person! I should've sent the whole submarine to its death instead!"

Dozens of sailors had gathered on the other side of the glass walls and were cheering, but neither Jason nor Hick could hear them from within the soundproofed arena. The crowd had divided into two: one led by Nico to cheer on Hick, and another led by Hazel to cheer on Jason. Both of them, along with Percy and Poseidon, were standing at the front of the crowd, just behind the glass wall. They had a clear view of the impending match, much to Hick's chagrin.

"Alright, let's get this over and done with," Hick said through gritted teeth.  
Jason frowned. "You're not using a sword?"  
"Uh… Never learnt to use one, never even used one and… heh. Don't think I should even bother," Hick mumbled, watching Jason brandish a blunt, wooden sword he had adopted for the match. "But I did use Macy's kitchen knife set a lot when I fought monsters on the street. Terms and conditions apply, each sold separately."

The next second, a blur of brown approached Hick rapidly, closing in fast. Hick instinctively ducked to her right, Jason's wooden sword barely missing the skin of her cheek. While she was trying to recover from what just happened, Jason sprinted towards her, ready to tackle her down onto the ground. He leapt at her, but instead of colliding into her, he made a grab at thin air and crashed head first into the glass wall. A chorus of groans came from the crowd on the other side of the glass. Jason immediately leapt to his feet and turned, enduring the pain that was throbbing in his head. Apparently, he had not anticipated that Hick would have shadow travelled. There she stood, just a few inches before him. Picking up the wooden sword from the ground, she flipped it around so the sword's hilt was just within his grasp. There was a comfortable, laidback air to her, which unnerved Jason a little. "Looks like fighting all that beasts on the street has paid off," she smirked.

Jason took the sword and chuckled, "We're just getting started. Don't get cocky." With that, he swung the wooden blade at Hick, to which she ducked, stooping low. What followed after was too fast for the spectators to register. Jason concentrated hard on his surroundings, always pinpointing Hick's presence in the arena right but always barely missing her at the tip of his blade as she ran up and leapt off the glass walls, disappearing and reappearing so abruptly and unpredictably in different parts of the battle room.

Electricity cackled from Jason's hands in his frustration, as he tried to electrocute his elusive opponent by filling the entire room with buzzing electricity. Silence fell upon the spectators as they watch the match with bated breath.

Hick reappeared with a burst of black smoke, just a few feet in front of Jason, jumping slightly from the sudden painful stings she was getting from the electric shocks he was emitting. She hadn't broken a sweat yet, but Jason was perspiring profusely and panting heavily, having vigorously swung around his sword for a good fifteen minutes. He was currently at a temporary state of exhaustion, needing a couple of seconds to recover his energy before he has enough strength again to knock Hick off her feet. It was Hick's chance to attack and they both knew it.

Jason raised his tired arms to block his face just as Hick raised her right fist for a good punch. But instead of punching him, Hick dropped her hand and kneed Jason in the groin instead. The buzzing electricity in the sparring room immediately died out. Hick backed off and watched as Jason drop his sword and crumple to the floor in painful agony, clutching his precious area. She raised her brows. "Well, what do you know? That was the minotaur's exact reaction when I slammed a fire extinguisher in that area."

Outside the arena, horrified gasps and laughter filled the air after witnessing Hick's harsh deed. Hick looked in Percy's direction. In contrast to Nico, who was very evidently screaming his lungs out and cheering her on, and Hazel, who was yelling at Jason to get up, Percy was clearly unimpressed and still furious at her.

"You know, ever since I arrived, you've been sulking the entire trip because of her," Poseidon muttered to Percy, his gaze still fixed on the glass arena. "Do you not get along with her?"  
"I don't get along with stupid people. She's stupid," Percy retorted, folding his arms. He felt like he was some spoilt bratty kid, and that somehow made him angrier. Nico and Hazel exchanged glances. "That's not all you think of her," Nico muttered under his breath, inducing a giggle from Hazel.  
"What'd you say?"  
"Nothing."

Hick met Nico's gaze and he flashed her a huge grin, which quickly faltered. That could only mean Jason was back up on his feet. Within a fraction of a second, Hick had vanished into wisps of black smoke just before an electric current could hit her. Jason stood his ground and concentrated on his surroundings, anticipating Hick to shadow travel to the spot right behind him like she always did. He positioned his sword for a back jab, so he could ram it into her gut as soon as she materialized behind him. All of a sudden, she appeared right in front of him in a burst of black flames and, taking advantage of his state of shock, head-butted him hard before disappearing again. Percy couldn't help but grin. Everyone roared with laughter and cheered the fight on, fists pumping in the air. It was like a scene straight out of a Jackie Chan Hollywood film.

All Jason could see was stars after the abrupt head-butt. He blinked hard and shook his head, trying to recover his sight. There came a loud bang, like some sort of explosion, just a few meters behind him. Hick had relocated. This was her chance, while he was defenceless. She broke into a sprint, hunkering down into a skid as she neared her target. Reaching her arm out, Hick grabbed and tugged at Jason's feet as she skidded past him, flipping him up into the air onto his back, his breath knocked out of him upon impact with the floor. In a flash, Hick had picked up the wooden sword and clambered onto him, resting the tip of the blade atop his Adam's apple. It was clear who the winner was. The crowd started to disperse.

Hazel could not believe her eyes. This was the same Jason who had fought his way for hours up Mount Othrys, home of the titans, and defeat Krios. A feat only Hercules has accomplished. Besides Percy, she has never seen anyone else defeat Jason so quickly in combat until Hick came along. She had moved around the room so unpredictably and so quickly: flying, jumping, sprinting… especially the way she used her shadow travelling powers for short distance travel so frequently. She has never seen any other demi-god fight move and behave so much like… a demon.

He fought like a demon, Frank had once told Hazel about how Percy was like in combat. If Hick were to engage in a battle with Percy... Hazel looked in Percy's direction. He was still wearing the frown he had been wearing all day whenever Hick was in sight, but he was ostensibly shocked too.

All of a sudden, the submarine gave a tiny jolt, apparently having ceased all movement. "Looks like we've reached our stop along the Hudson River," Poseidon announced.

* * *

 **Empire State Building, Manhattan, NY, USA.**  
"The home of the Olympian gods used to be located at the peak of Mount Olympus, but it's now on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building, having moved with Western Civilization," Poseidon droned on to Hick, clearly not enjoying his role as her tour guide, as they entered the glass elevator of the Empire State Building.  
"What? The Empire State Building doesn't have 600 floors," Hick scoffed.  
"600th floor please," Nico told the lobby boy, grinning at Hick's stunned expression upon seeing a 600th floor button on the elevator.

A moment later, the elevator doors opened, revealing a sea of fluffy clouds lit golden by the early evening sun. A long flight of stairs led the tall, towering marble gates of Olympus. Everyone walked ahead except for Hick, who surveyed the scene before her in awe. She looked down at the scene beneath her. There was Manhattan, once an unfashionable farmland, but now a colourful town bustling with people and shiny, angry honking cars. "Come on, Hick! Keep up!" Hazel exclaimed, running back to the elevator to stop the doors from closing in on Hick.  
"Sorry," Hick murmured, letting Hazel drag her up the stairs while she kept her gaze on peeks of Manhattan through the gaps between the clouds.

The trip through Olympus had Hick in a daze. They passed some giggling wood nymphs who flung olives at Percy and Jason from their garden, trying to get the handsome demi-gods' attention. At the market, hawkers offered to sell her love potions, a new spear, a genuine grey-stoned replica of Medusa' head… The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered-satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking adults whom Hick suspect to be minor gods and goddesses. Nobody seemed worried about an impending intergalactic war. In fact, a festive mood was in the air. Several heads turned to watch Hick pass and whisper to their neighbours.  
More steps led up to a central courtyard and past that, the throne room. It was practically five times the size of an entire soccer field. There were twelve thrones arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. Seated on them were the twelve majors Greek gods, three times taller and bigger than the average person. Behind the twelve thrones were threes larger thrones, one was empty, the other two preoccupied by male titans literally elephantine in size. Amongst them, Hick recognized Oceanus amidst the audience. None of the gods and the titans were moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they'd just finished an argument.

Then Hick saw him. The father she had never met until that very moment. He had the same albino white skin as Nico, intense black eyes and shoulder-length black hair.  
"Come on, then," Poseidon sighed, ruffling Percy's hair as he strolled past the five demi-gods to his throne. They followed after the sea god, stopping at the centre of the throne room.

The silence was deafening. Hick stared at the immortals, who all simply stared back at her. "Uh… apparently, my suggestion for a group video call via Skype was rejected. So, here I am," she muttered, jamming her hands into her pockets.  
"That is a child of Hades? Kind of hard to believe," one of the goddesses commented, squinting at Hick as if she was some kind of circus freak show. Hick stared back at the beautiful goddess. "Judging from that red hair and bambi eyes, I would've thought she was your daughter, Hestia; a demi-god of hearth and domesticity."

"We did not gather here today to make shallow comments on our heroes' physical appearance, Aphrodite," another goddess spoke up. She appeared to be the spitting image of Annabeth, with her platinum blonde hair, stormy grey eyes and pale yet toned figure. Hick could only assume she was Athena, the goddess of strategic warfare and wisdom. Athena looked over at Hick.  
"We are here to address the issue about the invasion concerning the Creepers… that is the bugs you've been seeing in Oceanus' territory.  
"Word has reached Olympus that you have rejected the gift of an entire ghost army, bestowed upon you by all the gods, titans and protogenois sitting in this very room. A very foolish move on your part, Hick Valkyrie."

"Come on, Athena. The girl assassinated those Creepers' queens and sent armies of them fleeing back to their realm. With just ONE submarine. Every single one of them have returned to and stayed in their realm now, no doubt thanks to our hero here," Poseidon scoffed. "There is no need to be jea - "  
Athena banged her spear on the hard marbled floor of the throne room, cutting off the sea god she has abhorred for centuries. "Had she accepted the army instead of sending them to rest in the underworld, she would have killed all those Creepers by then!" she thundered. "None would have survived to escape back to their realm! But now that they have, they will return with reinforcements! And since it has come to this, she will have to annihilate the entire specie!"  
"Relax, Athena. My daughter would have to kill them all either way, whether or not she let the surviving Creepers of the fallen fortress live," Hades sighed, tired of the all the bickering.

"Kill them all?" Hick echoed Hades, shocked at the sudden turn of events. "So in the end, you just want me to get rid of their entire specie?"  
"There has to be another way," Percy quickly spoke up for Hick before the immortals, sensing the agitation in her voice. "Couldn't we just close up the portal?"  
"We have consulted the Fates and considered that plan, Percy, but it cannot be done. All realms are meant to be connected," Oceanus spoke wearily. "No one can tamper with fate, not even a titan or a god."  
"Wow. So murder is the way to go. How convenient," Hick scoffed, folding her arms. "You guys want me to be no different from Hitler, is that it?"  
"If you mean your brother, Adolf Hitler, then sure. Both of you share the same father after all," the bulkiest, buffest of the male gods guffawed, unaffected by the furious glare an offended Hades was shooting at him. The god wielded a massive battle-axe in his right arm and was obviously Ares, the god of war and bloodshed. Hick didn't like him very much.

"Don't be so obstinate, Valkyrie," Hera spoke up, brushing aside Ares' unnecessary snide remark. "The Creepers are the enemy. It is necessary that you do this for the greater good."

Hick could not believe what she was hearing. "Are you even listening to yourselves? Killing for the greater good? This is messed up, what you're asking me to do!" she exclaimed. "These… Creepers, or so you call them, have children amongst them! I saw them fleeing the fortress we took down with my own two eyes! We… we can't just annihilate them!"

"It is not that simple. If I may speak, lone warrior… I am Coeus, titan of rational intelligence."

The other male titan seated next to Oceanus stood up. He was roughly ten feet tall with elaborate black Stygian iron armour and a single diamond blazing in the breastplate. His hair and eyes were a blue-white, like some sort of winter blizzard. His face, though marked by a number of battle scars, was quite handsome just like the other gods. He had the same cold eyes as Artemis – the goddess of hunting, but the same kind smile as Apollo – the god of the sun.

"Let me remind you that while you were busy evading our attempts to get you to commence your mission, the war we waged against those insectoid went on for months. No demi-god could go in your place because of the prophecy. Because of your absence, many lives have been lost, immense damage was done and too deep a hatred has been stirred. You know that well. You witnessed the result of their wrath at Oceanus' temple, and the process of it when you battled them at the portal.  
"I will not lie, the sea nymphs have reported that the bugs have all fled back to their world and have so far not re-emerged for now. But they will seek revenge on you for attacking their fortress and killing their queens. Even if you've spared the lives of many of their soldiers," he spoke. None of the gods had dared interrupt him so far.  
"If you do nothing now and these monsters wage another attack, very likely an attack that will be too big for us to handle, you will put billions of lives at risk, including the humans you could not bear to leave behind. Oceanus, my brother here, as well as Poseidon, will eventually die under these creatures' relentless attack and the ocean will die along with them without a ruler."

Poseidon will die? Hick's gaze shifted to Percy. His face had paled to a sickly grey.

"When the ocean dies," Coeus continues. "So will the realms it connect to the human world. The underworld will fall, along with your father. Olympus will fall, along with the all gods. And the humans will be left defenceless for these monsters to kill, conquer and steal land from once they find their own realm has been destroyed. You know what the Lone Prophecy states, Hick. You and your friends will either save or watch all worlds ablaze. Do you understand now why we must destroy them?"

"What about Phoebe's prophecy?" Jason asked. "She gave Hick another prophecy."  
"May we speak to her?" Hazel asked.  
"Ah… my sister. My superstitious, irrational counterpart. She was supposed to attend this meeting," Coeus said, gesturing to the empty throne beside him. "But she refused. She does not sit well with our plan to – "  
"Execute genocide? Why, how rude of her to not hear you out," Nico commented sarcastically.  
"I see Hick's rudeness has rubbed off on you, boy," Zeus muttered. A deafening boom of thunder filled Olympus and the demi-gods jumped, except for the gods, the titans and a sorely unimpressed Hick. The thunder petered out in echoes within the gigantic throne room.

"Even if we were to charge in with an army now to take over an entire world, it will take us years and it won't guarantee us a victory," Hick said, after the thunder has died down.  
"Coeus has preempted that," Hades replied. "The titans and gods will forge Aetos, a celestial vehicle of mass destruction, under Hephaestus' instructions from the fires of hell. Your powers as demi-gods of the Big Three will be Aetos' fuel and ammunition. It will aid you in your attack."  
"It is a first in history for gods and titans to cooperate," Coeus added, a hint of reluctance in his voice. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."  
"Meanwhile, all five of you will return to your respective camps and learn to use Aetos once we have completed its construction," Hera announced. "The soldiers of the underworld will join Poseidon and Oceanus' army to stand guard at the enemy's portal. Any signs of disturbances will require every one of you to reassemble."

**To be continued...**

Sorry for the abrupt end! This chapter was getting too long and I decided to cut it off. Be sure to leave some comments in the comment box if you've got any ideas on how I should proceed writing future chapters. :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a few footnotes at the very bottom, for some of the readers who've never read all the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan.

**The Battle Cry**

"You're going down, redhead," a tall, beefy girl yelled. She had a pair of piggish brown eyes and short, stringy light brown hair that looked like someone had just attacked it with a pair of safety scissors. Hick remembered her as one of the Ares kids leading the opening of Capture the Flag Game. What did Jason she was again? Right. Clarisse.

Hick turned to Jason. "Remind me why I'm participating in this flag-obsessed game again?"  
"It's a customary Friday thing. Relax, it'll be fun."  
"We have a war to prepare for but here we are, playing games," Hick muttered.

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor. "Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team— Hades and allies Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo and Hermes —shall take the west woods. Ares and allies Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus —red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

Hick turned to look at the whole crowd of demi-gods waiting for her and Nico's orders. This was her reward for ending a war. More violence.

 _You should be proud to lead a Siege team!_ they say. _It's an honour!_ they say.  
"Alright, blue team!" Hazel called out. "Follow me!"

They cheered and followed the three Hades kids. As soon as they arrived at the location, the cheers came to a halt and silence fell over the demi-gods. There was a nervous air around them.

"Isn't that the Ant Hill?" one of the demi-gods gulped.  
From what Hick gathered from Annabeth before the Capture the Flag Game, the Ant Hill is apparently home of giant ant-like creatures the size of a full grown German Shepherd that take pleasure in hoarding shiny things like gold. It has many nests down to the Earth's core, which are stocked with larva, metal and lots of armour. It was thought to be a myth until Percy, Annabeth, Beckendorf – a deceased Hephaestus warrior – and his girlfriend Silena – a deceased Aphrodite warrior – found it.

"So that's why you dipped the whole flag in gold paint," Annabeth commented. "How do you plan on planting the flag on top of that hill? The Ants will take it away with them."  
"Hick extended the flag's pole and sharpened the tip, don't worry about it," Nico replied. As if on cue, Hick vanished in a poof of black smoke and reappeared atop the Ant Hill, driving almost the entire flagpole into the hill until only the cloth peeked out, and shadow travelling back to Nico's side before the emerging Ants could reach her and rip her body to pieces. All the demi-gods watched in alarm as the huge Ants cluster over the flag and scraped at it, struggling to take the golden flag with them but the soil held fast to the long flag pole.

Hick turned to the demi-gods, who were awaiting instructions. Percy caught her eye and she immediately averted her gaze. The argument they had on THRESHER was still fresh in her mind.

"Okay everyone, gather round. Here's the plan," she said. "If you guys think the plan and the battle formation can be improved, just voice it out as I explain and we'll improvise."

"Wait. Battle formation? We've never done one," Annabeth frowned.

"Which is why they won't expect one."

* * *

As soon as the Capture the Flag Game is over, Hick is going to kill Nico and Hazel.  
She led the raiding party through the forest with Percy in awkward silence, while Annabeth took Hick's place with Jason and Leo Valdez from the Hephaestus cabin to lead the other raiding party on the other side of the forest. Meanwhile, Nico and Hazel stood guard at the bottom of Ant Hill.

"We're nearing the shit stack," Hick whispered, referring to the highly piled up boulders termed Zeus' Fist. Atop the rocks was Ares' red flag, flapping angrily in the wind. A couple of demi-gods stifled their laughter. To be fair, Zeus' Fist really did resemble a pile of poop. "Assemble Trojan Turtle," Hick said.

The party shuffled together and formed a compact square around Percy and Hick, with the camp kids at the periphery hunkering down. Saran-wrapped shields were held out, forming the dome shape of a turtle shell. Thunder rumbled above them and a flash of lightning hit a tree just behind the shit stack, causing it to catch a mild fire and topple to ground.

"Does she want Zeus to kill us all?" one of the Hephaestus kids whispered.  
"I heard that," Hick said. "He can burn the entire camp f– "  
"Keep advancing guys. We need to get nearer to Zeus' Fist," Percy interrupted hastily. Zeus is a god with literally no sense of humour at all, and Percy wouldn't be surprised to witness Zeus burning Camp Half-Blood to the ground someday if Hick doesn't keep her mouth shut.

"They're here! Attack!" some guy yelled as soon as Percy and Hick's raiding party emerged from the forest. Arrows started raining down on them, and some buzzed with electricity, but failing to electrically conduct the saran-wrapped shields. Swords were clanging against the shields but the defence held strong, enduring the impact. Through the cracks, Hick could see Annabeth and Leo's bigger Trojan Turtle suffering the more attacks since they arrived earlier as a decoy. Their shields were about to give way.

"Percy! Now!" Hick yelled. Percy immediately knelt down and sunk his fists into the damp soil. Within seconds, water started to percolate out from porous grassy grounds beneath Zeus' Fist. The boulders were sinking.

"Open the roof!" Hick commanded.  
"No, Hick! It's too soon!" Percy protested, but the top shields already opened.

Ignoring the warning, Hick stepped on Percy's shoulders, leaped through the opening and rolled onto the grass. And she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, the wind roaring in her ears and pulling every single strand of red hair out of her face. The flag was still high up, but majority of the flag defenders were on the other side of Zeus' Fist, taking down Annabeth and Leo's defence. They were either too shocked to react to or totally unaware of Hick's sudden offense. She looked briefly behind her back. Percy was following her closely behind as planned, Riptide drawn to defend Hick from any attack so she can reach the flag unimpeded. The Trojan Turtle formation had broken. Her raiding party had dispersed and were fighting their attackers, occupying them so Hick could get to the flag safely.

Hick ran harder, feeling the heat of the scorching hot summer on her skin. It was a feeling that accompanied fond memories.

* * *

 **Apple Valley, California, 2003.**  
It was a hot, sweltering day. Heat waves could be seen emerging from the sun-baked brick pavements. Rows and rows of vintage-looking shop houses were open for business. The silence of the hot, dry town broke when two children – barely nine years old – emerged, running as fast as they could. A boy with smooth, pale yellow hair. A girl with flying locks the colour of dried blood.

They successfully outran and avoided their tormentor—straight into the path of another. At first, they thought nothing of it. The group crossing the bridge and smoking cigarettes could have been anybody, and it was too late to turn around when the two parties recognized each other.

The big bully smiled.  
He spoke very amiably. This could only mean that he was at his most vicious. "Well, well, if it isn't Ryan and his little whore." Very smoothly, he met them and wrenched the comic book out of Hick's grip. The comic book she had saved hard for weeks to buy. "What are we reading?"

"This is between us," Ryan tried to reason with him. "It has nothing to do with her. Come on, give it back." He rushed at the bully. "Come on, Gray, don't do this to her. It's me you're after. I'll do anything you want."  
The older boy only swatted him away, the book held aloft. And he corrected him.

"No, lover boy," he said. "I'll do anything I want," and he proceeded to the river. Everyone followed.

"Please!" Ryan pleaded.

Too late.

The book was released gloriously from Grayson's hand. It opened and flapped, the pages rattling as it covered ground in the air. More abruptly than expected, it stopped and appeared to be sucked toward the water. It clapped when it hit the surface and began to float downstream.  
Ryan didn't stick around to hear the laughter. He took off down the riverbank, attempting to locate the comic, Hick following closely behind.

"Ryan, it's fine!" Hick cried after him.  
He jumped into the water, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. There he stood, waist-deep in the water. The river water was percolating through his woollen pants onto the skin of his lean legs, but he did not attempt to leave. For a good minute or so, he stayed. He didn't explain it to Hick, but she knew very well what he was going to say.

"How about a kiss?" the little boy smiled cheekily.  
"How about no."

Ryan clambered up onto the riverbanks and handed Hick her wet comic. His pants were equally soaked, clinging to his legs.

"You just had to flirt with Grayson's crush," Hick said, following him up the hill.  
"That was months ago. Not my fault Charlotte's a clinger."  
"The face of an angel, but a spawn of the Devil. You're really a lover boy, aren't you?"

Ryan looked at her. _Until I met you._  
Nevertheless, the two 3rd graders trudged on, away from the coast.  
"Thanks for fishing my comic out of the river."

* * *

 **Apple Valley, California, 2008.**  
Ryan and Hick were in seventh grade. It was a scorching hot summer weekend and they were walking through the forest to their favourite frog-catching hangout near the lake.

"Hey, you see that tree over there?" Ryan whispered to her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hick rolled hers. She knew what he was trying to get at. "Ye sire, I see it. Doth thee want it smooshed into thine face?"  
Ryan smirked. "I bet you can't beat me to it."  
"I bet I can."  
"What do you bet, sucker?" he mocked. "Have you got any money?"  
"Of course not. Have _you_ any money?"  
"Nope." But Ryan got an idea. An impish grin spread across his lips. It was the 'lover boy' coming out of him again. Hick had witnessed far too many weak-willed girls fall for and swoon over that angelic face.  
"If I beat you, I get to kiss you." He crouched down and began rolling up his trousers.  
"That again. You never change."  
"How about it?"

Hick thought about it while examining his pale, slim legs. They had gotten more muscular now, and they were much longer than hers. But she is demi-god. She could probably outrun him. She smirked. Shit was about to go down. "You can kiss me if you win. But if I win, you take over my classroom cleaning duties for the month." Ryan considered it. "Fair enough."

The next second, they were running side by side, laughing, elbowing and trying to get in front. Hick was slightly ahead. Two meters before the finish line, she stumbled slightly over the uneven forst floor and Ryan caught up. They crossed the finish line together. "Do we call it a draw then?" Hick panted, her hands on her knees. Ryan shot Hick an impish smile, his pale blue eyes alive from the vigorous exercise. He really does look like what Hick would imagine an angel to look like.  
"Do I still get my kiss?"  
"Not in a million years," Hick instantly replied to the question Ryan has been bugging her with ever since she transferred into his school. She straightened her back and wiped the perspiration off her forehead.

"How about if I take over your cleaning duties?"  
"How about no."

As they walked back towards the group, Ryan forewarned her. "One day, Hick," he said, grinning cheekily at his childhood friend, "you'll be dying to kiss me."

But Hick knew.  
As long as both she and Ryan Swanepoel lived, she would never kiss him, especially not this day. There were more important matters to attend to.

* * *

 **The present.**  
Everyone watched with bated breath as Hick climb up the half-submerged structure with simian dexterity. Some of the Ares kids were climbing after her, but were far from catching up. The flag lost its footing wedged between two boulder as they rearranged and fell apart above the watery mud, and Hick caught the falling flag before it could fall and sink into the watery mud beneath.

"Hades wins!" Chiron announced. From the sight of his face, Chiron was clearly troubled witnessing the damage done to Zeus' Fist. The god would not be pleased.

Hanging on for dear life with one hand while the other grasped the flag, Hick lift her knees to her chest and kicked off the boulder, landing all too ungracefully on harder, dryer soil. A sickening crunch came from her left hand upon impact with the ground.

Swords fell to the grounds and the allies of Hades' cabin cheered as soon as soon as they saw Hick lying on the ground, grimacing in pain but her right, uninjured hand still holding tight to Ares' flag. Some had left to report the victory to Nico and the others defending their own flag. The game was over in a matter of minutes.  
Hick looked at her left hand. All four fingers were horribly bent, sticking out at odd angles. Without hesitation, she cracked them back into place, biting her lips to suppress a scream.

"Hick! Gods, Hick! You alright?" Percy yelled, running over to her side. He got to his knees and supported her to her feet, his hands still dotted with bits of moist dirt. Hick stared at him, a little taken aback by his concern. All traces of hate he had shown her earlier had vanished.

And then it reappeared.

"I told you it was too soon! Why the hell did you just up and leave?"  
Hick sighed and walked away. Much to her dismay, Percy followed.  
"We were supposed to get the flag together! You wouldn't have to break your fingers, if you'd just – "  
"Gosh, get off my case! I got the flag!"  
"BECAUSE I WAS COVERING YOUR ASS FOR YOU!"

The cheers had ceased. Everyone was watching them, stunned by Percy's outburst.

Hick threw the flag to the ground and finally turned to face him. "You know what? Ever since that portal incident, it seems that whatever I do, I seem to mess up so bad for you! You're NEVER happy with what I do! So maybe, I should just do NOTHING! You want me to do NOTHING, is that it?"  
"I WANT YOU TO BE SAFE!" Percy roared. A huge tidal wave of mud rose from the ground and headed towards Hick. Within a split second, Hick had sucker punched Percy in the face, and the muddy tsunami fell, splashing the surrounding demi-gods instead. A couple of Aphrodite girls shrieked.  
"You want me to be safe by DROWNING me in MUD. Genius. Just genius."

Percy growled and lunged at Hick. Both of them tumbled onto the ground, exchanging punches and kicks.

"Break it up! Stop it, right now!" Chiron commanded, galloping towards them.

Just beyond the pile of rocks that have now completely vanished beneath a huge pool of mud, Annabeth watched the whole scene uneasily as everyone struggled to stop the two great demi-gods from killing each other.

* * *

The whispers among demi-gods at the dining pavilion ceased as soon as Hick and Nico entered. Hick sighed inwardly. It was like high school all over again. The stoic expressions, the judging stares, the dead silence.

"Wow. They must really like you," Nico teased her, his words echoing throughout the painfully silent dining area.  
"Probably because I'm so beautiful. My gods, I'm literally a showstopper," she replied sarcastically, lightly massaging the badly bruised cheek Percy had given her. Both siblings exchanged sniggers.

Hazel stood up and waved her arms from one of the tables. "Hick! Nico! Over here!"

Seated at the table with Hazel were Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Piper and Leo. Percy was angrily sawing away at thick piece of chicken meat as he glared at Hick. Seating herself opposite him, she took up a spoon and languidly stirred her piping hot clam chowder soup, calmly meeting Percy's ugly scowl. Everyone else at the table stared at them in awkward silence.

"Mmmh, clam chowder soup. Oh, and cheesy garlic bread!" Hick gasped. "My favourite! Thanks, Hazel!"  
"Uh… A-Actually… it was Percy who got it for you."

Hick turned to look at Percy. He had stopped glaring and was staring down at his food, refusing to meet her gaze. Hick took a piece of the cheesy, gooey, crispy goodness and chomped down on it, trying to read his poker face. She couldn't read his emotion but she could tell from the purples and reds on his face that he was just as badly bruised as hers from their previous physical altercation.

"You know, people are saying that because Hades broke the Big Three's oath sworn on the River of Styx, the Creepers emerged and so the world is doomed," Leo said to Hick. Hazel reached out and smacked him in the head.

"WHAT!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head in pain.  
Hick grinned at the slapstick comedy that played out before her. "What oath?" she asked.  
"The Big Three made an oath to never sire any half-bloods again, on the River of Styx. Breaking an oath would mean great tragedy," Annabeth explained.  
"What? So people are saying the Creepers' invasion is Hick's fault? Because she was born? That's not fair!" Piper exclaimed.  
"It's fine, Piper. Doesn't matter," Hick intervened. "Speaking of Creepers, I'm leaving Camp Half-Blood by midnight for the portal."

Cutleries dropped and clanked. Everyone looked up from their plates in shock.

"WHAT! But we're supposed to wait for Aetos' construction to come to completion! We're suppose to follow the gods and the titans' plan!" Hazel protested.  
"Hick, do you really want to defy all the gods AND titans of Olympus and Othrys?" Jason exclaimed.  
"She's gone bonkers. She's gone bonkers," Nico remarked, unable to believe his ears.

"Well, plans change," Hick shrugged. "I won't blindly follow orders. I won't lead an army. I won't blast a world into oblivion. I'm going to find another way to bury the hatchet, and I think the answer's going to be in the Creeper's world. The journey's gonna be dangerous and full of uncertainties, and I _really_ don't want any one of you to come along. I'm just informing you guys before _someone_ tries to kill me with a mud tsunami."

Percy ceased sawing his chicken meat and stared at Hick. She was shooting him a smile of mock and contempt, deliberately pushing his buttons.

And it worked.

"What? Too chicken for a mud bath?" he snapped.  
"I'm sorry, did you hear something?" Hick turned to ask Jason. "It…you know, it kinda went like ' _Percy Jackass… Percy Jackass…_ '. No? Didn't hear it? Must be a – "

Jason immediately shoved a piece of rock-hard scone into her mouth, silencing her before she could shoot her mouth off at Percy again. A giggle escaped Piper's lips and she instantly slapped her hands over her mouth, immediately ashamed.

"Whatever it is, I'm coming with you to the portal," Jason said, before Percy could come up with a retort.

Hick spat out the rock-hard scone that she could not seem to gnaw through and slapped Jason's arm.

"Ow! That stings!"  
"Dude! Was I not clear when I said that I DID NOT want any one of you coming along?"  
"Well, I'm coming along too!" Hazel piped up, meeting Hick's glare with a bright smile.  
"I'll have your back, whether you like it or not," Nico added.  
"Ugh! See what you did, you ass? Now THEY want to come along!" Hick hissed at Jason.

"What about you, Percy?" Annabeth piped up. "To complete the prophecy? Two former praetors, two kin at her hind."

Everyone turned to look at Percy. He was staring hard at Hick, as if trying to burn a hole in her face.

A smirk emerged on his face.

"You wouldn't," Hick growled.  
Percy shrugged in reply.  
"No. NO," she clutched her low pigtails, her eyes wide with dread. "Nonononono – "  
"Wouldn't hurt to give a mud bath," he interrupted, confirming Hick's worst nightmare.

"You know, I think I could help," Leo piped up. "I know a few merfolks from Camp Fish-Blood* (refer to footnote at the bottom) who might be able to help sneak you guys into the portal undercover."

* * *

"Hey, Seaweed Brain."

Percy didn't have to turn around to tell it was Annabeth. She entered his cabin and nestled next to him on the sofa.

"Hey. I kind of miss going on missions with you. It feels weird not having you around."  
"Well, you seem to be having an awful lot of fun with Hick lately."  
His jaw dropped. "You kidding me? She's a pain in the ass! She… she keeps doing all these stupid things, running off on her own! I was the one that brought her here and if she dies - "  
"Wait! So… you feel responsible for her safety? That's the whole reason why you're overreacting to every single thing she does?"

Annabeth tried not to let the smile of relief show on her face.

"I wasn't overreacting," Percy protested. "The girl has a sick hobby of… I don't know, trying to KILL herself."  
"Jason told me what she did at the portal. Is it true? How... How many ghost warriors did she summon?"  
A pause. "I… I don't know. Uh… hundreds. Gods, maybe thousands. She was emitting despair, and it felt like I was in River Cocytus... the river of misery, right? It was like she had given up on living, just like how I almost gave in to drowning in the River Cocytus, except she wasn't under the influence of any river. I could feel her misery and the water was becoming so cold, Annabeth. I don't know why, but I felt it, and I had to stop it before it killed her... and all of us."

He remembered that moment all too well. Hick had paled so much then, and veins were popping up all over her body… and her eyes… just dead, like a fish's. She didn't care if her body was going to break. It seemed as if she was planning to die for all of them then, and he really thought she was going to die.

Not that he wasn't a reckless one.

* * *

 **Five years ago…**  
"Hick! The corridor! Get on!"

As she received a merciless caning outside the classroom, Hick could hear them all laughing in the classroom, between Miss Hufferman's striking hand. She saw them. All those children squeezing in one clump, vying for a better view at the door. Grinning and laughing. Bathed in sunshine. Everyone laughing but Ryan.

The school bell rang. Throngs and throngs of students spilled out of the school building then, eager to disperse. Ryan and José caught up with Hick at the school gate.  
Ryan's naturally cheerful-looking face was all scrunched up in disapproval. He was evidently concerned. "You should really control your temper more. You always let Motor Mouth Marx get to you," he said. "So you have no dad. What's the big deal?"  
Hick glared at him. "You don't know what it's like. And it's not like _you've_ never lost your temper and beaten up someone."  
"Yes, but _you_ reek of it. You'll kill somebody someday," He leaned closer and smiled cheekily. "You should have a bath. You're starting to smell like a criminal!"  
" _I do not!_ "

Ryan turned to José. "Hey, José, you should come and have a smell of this!" he said, tilting his head in Hick's direction.  
A pause. "Sorry, what did you say? I can't hear you."  
Hick smiled. Trust José to fake idiocy at the right time. Ryan rolled his eyes and shook his head at Hick. "Useless."

On the way to the their hangout at the park, they walked past a school bus with a cannon ball wedged into its side.

"Wow! Look at that!" Ryan exclaimed.

There was a commotion at the park. Amidst the crowd of laughing children and flummoxed adults, an older boy with sea-green eyes and jet-black hair was getting a public scolding by an extremely furious teacher. Beside him was a rusty war cannon he presumably set off. His confused eyes found Hick's disconcerted gaze.

* * *

 **The Present: Camp Half-Blood**  
For a brief moment, they stared at each other. And then she looked away, shifting her attention to the sky.

Just a stone's throw away, Percy strolled across the flat grassy grounds of the empty archery field towards her. Night had fallen, and the camps' torches were lit, filling the whole site with a orange glow. He had seen Hick turn away from him, and he knew she had seen him approaching. The bruise on her left cheek from their last physical altercation had disappeared.

"Hick, I – "  
"Well if it isn't Percy Jackson the Persistent Jackass," Hick said brightly, looking at him square in the face. She was still livid. "Howdy, podnuh! Fancy a merry round of a-bitchin'?"  
"Gods, you guys are going at it again?"

It was Hazel who had spoken up, coming up from behind them with Jason at her side. They were all packed up and ready to go.

"Where's Nico?" Percy frowned.  
"He shadow travelled with Leo to Camp Fish-Blood," Jason replied. "They'll be waiting just above the portal with the disguises the mermen and mermaids made for us, once we get there."

Just then, there came a huge gust of wind. A horde of dark, winged horses descended from the heavens, led by a young storm spirit. The horses had dark storm-cloud bodies and manes that crackled with electricity.

"Flynn**! Right on time!" Hick exclaimed, patting the young storm spirit on the shoulder the moment he touched ground.  
"I brought the tamest and fastest storm spirit horses I could find," he shrugged modestly.

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Camp Fish-Blood: In the book, the Mark of Athena, Leo went with Aphros to an undersea hill that looked down on the camp. It is an entire town of Greek style buildings on the seafloor. The roofs are tiled with mother-of-pearl, the gardens are filled with coral and sea anemones and Hippocampi graze in fields of seaweed. A team of Cyclopes were lowering the domed roof onto a new temple using a blue whale as a crane. Dozens of mermen and mermaids were seen swimming through the streets, hanging out in courtyards and practicing with swords and tridents in the area.
> 
> **Flynn: The same storm spirit that attacked Hick in chapter 1.


	9. Chapter 9

**Off We Go**

Percy surveyed his surroundings. He recognized the place all too well. Saratoga battlefield. He recognized the Revolutionary War cannon he had accidentally set off when he was merely a fifth grader. In a flash, Percy drew Riptide and pressed it against the throat of the approaching intruder.

It was Aphrodite.

In place of the blonde ringlets that Percy was used to seeing the goddess of love wear were thick red waves of red hair.

"Well, what a pleasure to meet to you too," she laughed, looking upon him in amusement. Percy froze. For a moment, he was reminded of Hick, when she had laughed with him at the fishes atop the roof of THRESHER.

"What do you want? Why are you showing me this place?" he asked, retracting Riptide back into its pen form. The goddess' smile vanished.

"To deliver a warning."

All of a sudden, the old battlefield was teaming with people – tourists snapping pictures, children whining, teachers yelling – and then he saw her. Young Hick Valkyrie, no older than ten years. Standing still amidst a sea of strolling strangers.

Percy took a step forward. He stopped in his tracks. Her little hands were wet with crimson blood, and they were holding onto a pulsating heart freshly ripped out of a living being. Lying before the girl on the ground was a slain drakon. She gave a jolt and dropped the now stilled organ, as if just breaking out of a trance and realizing what she had done. She stood and stared into space, wounded and traumatized, her dull violet eyes starting to brim with tears.

Percy felt his heart sank and he didn't know why. But it seemed to knock the breath out of him. And he found himself walking towards her, ready to pull her into a tight embrace.

All of a sudden, a boy with hair the colour of pale butter came into sight. Percy recognized him. It was Ryan. The same guy Hick hung out with at her college camp. The young boy's kind blue eyes met Hick's, and she buried her face into his shoulder as he hugged her. Percy froze. The blood drained from his face.

"Love hurts, doesn't it?" the goddess spoke up, and the scene stilled. Everyone had ceased moving. Even the rustling trees had stilled and hushed. Percy stared on at the image of Hick in Ryan's arms. He felt horrified, miserable, angry… jealous.

"No… No, this can't be. Annabeth is the one I love," he protested, turning to face Aphrodite. The goddess looked sorry for him, and resembled Hick so much it unnerved him. He snapped. "You did this, didn't you? You made this happen!"

"For goodness' sake, boy," the goddess rolled her eyes. "I control and arouse love and passion in others, but I do not create and intervene with _every_ single romantic link. "  
"WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS?" he roared.

But Aphrodite was unperturbed.

"To warn you of the chaos that will stem from this infatuation of yours. It'll destroy you if you're not careful."

And then darkness took over, swallowing the sunlit plains of the Saratoga Battlefield.

* * *

Percy could literally taste the salty sea breeze on his tongue. He immediately snapped his gaping mouth shut and wiped the drool streaming down his chine. The horse storm spirits had halted mid-air.

"Morning, sunshine! Had a good sleep?" Hazel called out to him. She held up a palm full of what appeared to be a clump of green mush.  
"What's that?" he frowned down at it.  
"Apparently, a concoction made by the mermen of Camp Fish-Blood. It's gonna temporarily turn us into merfolk," Hick replied, taking a tentative sniff at her very own clump of green much. A series of gags and shuddering followed, much to Percy's dismay.  
"Oh gods, just eat it already. Nico's waiting for us inside the whale," Jason muttered, grabbing up the green mush from Hick's grasp and, while she was gagging at the green mush's stench, shoved it into her mouth. "Don't you spit it out! Now come on!"

As soon as Hick had gulped it down, Jason grabbed her hand leapt off his storm spirit horse, pulling her along with him before she could register what was going to happen next.

Percy swallowed down his own green mush and gagged. It tasted simply horrendous, and left an overbearing stench in his breath, like the stench of a rat's corpse.

"Come on, then," Hazel said, leaping off her storm spirit horse into the ocean.

Upon impact with the ocean water, Jason felt his breath knocked out of his chest and he thrashed about in panic, trying to swim to the surface for air but his body just wasn't buoyant enough. He could feel his legs starting to merge in the most curious way, pushing and ripping his jeans apart at the inseam. He let out a yell as a sharp pain surged through his legs, his muscles expanding and contracting, twisting and burning.

All of a sudden, someone had grabbed him by the shoulder and was shaking him sober.

"Snap out of it! Geez! You're gonna get us found out!" Leo's voice hissed into his ear.

Jason opened his eyes to see a blue merman resembling Leo hovering in front of him; his teeth were as sharp as a shark's, and his eyes glowed a luminous yellow. Just over his shoulder was a mermaid with skin and scales of the same bluish hue; her large doe eyes lit up like purple glow sticks. If it weren't for those large, mischievous eyes and flaming red hair, Jason would not have recognized Hick at all in her mermaid disguise. Both Leo and Hick had teeth as sharp as a shark's. Jason gently ran his thumb along the sharpened tips of his teeth.

"How long is this disguise going to last?" he asked.

"As soon as we leave the waters," Nico replied him, swimming up to meet him. Four merfolk wearing silver Greek armor and wielding spears followed him from behind.

A huge splash followed by another occurred, and everyone turned to see Percy and Hazel swimming towards them, slowly morphing into blue merfolk and tearing their jeans apart in the process.

"We have no time to waste," one of the mermaids spoke urgently, as she and her fellow mermen helped the demi-gods fasten on their silver Greek armour. "We must head to the portal now in time for the Rotation!"  
"The Rotation?" Percy repeated after the mermaid.  
"Y-yes," the mermaid blushed under Percy's gaze. Jason smirked. The mermaid clearly found the almighty son of Poseidon and conqueror of the Great Prophecy dashing. From the corner of his eye, Jason caught Hick clutching her throat, pretending to gag whilst Nico stifled down a giggle, and whacked the girl in the head in disapproval  
"It's when the army of sentry standing on guard around the portal exchange shifts with the next army of sentry," Leo explained to Percy. "It happens only once every fortnight because Poseidon's armies have set up huge camps and food stations near the portal for the guards, and they only need to be refilled once every fortnight."  
"Woah. This is serious," Hazel said, shaking her head.  
"Well, the mermaid's right, then! Come on, let's get going!" Hick exclaimed, clapping her blue webbed hands down on Hazel's shoulder.

And so they swam off. What slowly petered into sight in the horizon took Hick by surprise.

A great castle stood in place of where Hick remembered the portal to be situated. There were no windows at all, only tall hard marbled walls that gleamed slivers of purples and blues, and a great blue castle gate well bolted by heavy golden barricades and locks. Waiting at the mouth of the castle was armies of merfolk, sirens, water drakons and a whole other lot of underwater creatures, standing in their respective rectangular division according to their specie. All five demi-gods turned pale at the sight of the massive arrangement.

"Gods," Hazel croaked feebly.  
"They're going to be so pissed if they catch us," Jason murmured. He looked over at Hick. She looked just as unnerved as the rest of them, but it was evident in her eyes that she had set her heart on entering the portal already. There was no going back.

And so they approached the division of well-armed Camp Fish-Blood soldiers. They had amongst them about a dozen massive cargo carts containing either weapons or food, each pulled by a herd of grey horses that had the lower half of a massive silver fish. Percy had said that 'hippocampi' is the name of their breed. "That's also the name of a brain part that plays a major role in memory and spatial navigation," Hick piped up.  
"What?" Nico said.  
"Geek!" Hazel exclaimed at the same time, punching Hick in the arm. As they approached the carts, a couple of mermen pushed aside a couple of brown food sacks to reveal a dome-shaped hideout made of shells. One by one, the demi-gods crept into their hideout."

"Quickly," one of the mermaids urged her comrades. "The gates are starting to open."

True enough, a couple of sirens had clicked open all the locks and pushed aside the massive bolts, enabling a couple of massive Cyclops to pry open the great blue gates of the castle.

The last thing Jason saw was Leo's face peeking through a gap between the food sacks.

"I'll be going off from here now. Can't do a fortnight of sentry duty without my cabin mates realizing I'm missing now, can I? Stay… Stay safe, you guys."  
"Leo," Jason called out.  
"Yeah?"  
"We'll be back before you know it, you know that."

A pause.

"Darn right you'll come back," Leo smiled. It was a genuinely happy smile, Jason knew, and it made him feel a little depressed.

"See you later," Hick piped up cheerfully, breaking the somber mood. Leo's smile widened into a happier one.  
"Yeah. See you later, Hick. Percy, Nico… Hazel…" he replied.

And then another brown food sack covered the gap, plunging the five demi-gods into total darkness.

Hick sat in the dark in silence, nervously fiddling with the fin of her mermaid tail. She couldn't help but play that one phrase Leo had said to Jason: _Darn right you'll come back._

What if some of them don't make it back? The prophecy stated that someone was going to die, didn't it? Hick recalled the first line of the Lone Prophecy's second stanza: "The one doomed to death must decide where one stands". She didn't get it, and neither did Annabeth, but Annabeth did say that it'll probably only be understood when some deed is done. The only thing they could gather from the line was that someone related to the prophecy was going to die.

A food sack had shifted, allowing light to filter into the demi-gods' hideout and interrupt Hick's thoughts. The same mermaid who fancied Percy popped into view. "We're nearing the portal. Poseidon has felt your presence and is searching the guards," she whispered. "So ready yourselves. We're getting the cart as quickly as possible to the portal. Swim straight ahead as fast as you can as soon as we push off the food sacks, because that's where the portal will be."

"Got it. Thanks Lana," Nico whispered back to the mermaid.

Everyone waited with baited breath, nervous as to what was going to happen next. The anticipation was killing Hick, and she planted her back against the wall of food sacks, ready to jet off as soon as the merfolks started pushing off the cart's load.

Much to her dismay, Percy had read her mind.

"You're not springing into that portal head first," he hissed, grabbing her wrist. She pulled her hand back abruptly but he only caught hold of it again. He refuses to give in.  
"I'm going in first," Percy insisted.

"No. My prophecy, my call. So STAY AT MY HIND, Jackass," Hick hissed back at him.  
"Don't call m – "

"Gods, Poseidon is coming over! Quick! Move! We're here now!" Lana whispered urgently.  
"Well, I'll go first then," Hazel announced cheerfully.

Before anyone could register what she had said, the girl had shot out of the hideout into the portal.

"Hazel!" Jason gasped and hurtled ahead as well, leaving behind a trail of bubbles. Hick immediately pulled Percy along and swam ahead, with Nico following closely by her side as they vanished into the portal. Out of curiosity, she looked over her shoulder. There was Poseidon, looking extremely displeased as he reached out his huge strong arms to grab on to her tail.

Hick yelped and flapped her fin wildly, dodging and narrowly missing the furious sea god's fingers as the portal sucked her in along with Percy and Nico. And they were gone.

* * *

The next thing Hick knew, they were falling down, down, down into empty space. The surrounding wisps of vapour had thickened into a dense mist. Hick could see only a few feet in any direction. She was plummeting downward so fast she couldn't think straight. Much to her relief and dismay, Nico and Percy were still by her side, screaming at the top of their lungs. Their skin had reverted back to their original colour, and their fish tails had vanished; in its place were their original human legs, covered up by what seemed to be a pair of scaly pants.

Hick couldn't control the shadows without any surrounding darkness to wield. How were they going to break their fall?

Then it dawned on Hick. They were going to die. They were going to die plummeting down hundreds of feet. So much for fulfilling the prophecy.

"Hazel! Jason!" Hick yelled, shifting her attention to her other comrades who had leapt into the portal earlier.

All of a sudden, Jason emerged through the mist below her, Hazel clinging on to his back. He grabbed onto Nico and Hick whilst Hick pulled Percy in so he could cling onto Jason as well. Hick could feel the fall slow down.

"You can FLY?" Hick exclaimed.  
"Y-Yeah…" Jason replied with difficulty. He was really straining under all their weight as he worked on easing their fall. Much to his consternation, he found himself struggling way more than usual in levitating him and his teammates to wherever they were heading atmosphere felt different. He never felt more out of his element in the air. It didn't feel like Zeus' territory anymore.

Meanwhile, calmed by the fact that they'd be safe from falling to their death, Hick tried to gauge their fall. She didn't have a stopwatch or anything like that, but anyone could count time.

"One Mississippi... two Mississippi... three Mississippi ..." At seventy Mississippi she gave up and was beginning to feel really restless.  
"Are we there yet?" Hazel whined.  
"No," Jason said.

A moment of silence.

"Now?" Hick piped up.  
"No!"

Another moment of silence.

"Hey, I think we're landing soon!" Percy announced.

The mist started to clear to reveal pitch-black darkness below, and true enough, Hick could make out what seemed to be the sandy coast of a beach. Their fall began to slow and they landed with a muffled thump. The place immediately felt off to Hick.

"Guys, we're not alone," she whispered, unsheathing a hidden pocketknife from her right ankle. It was too late to reach for the brass knuckles in her backpack.

With a snap of his fingers, Nico conjured up a burst of green underworld flames. As soon as they could see, the demi-gods found themselves face-to-face with the largest cockroach they had ever seen. Everyone froze.

Now, Hick had killed some pretty big bugs in her apartment. Ryan's mom, who lives with Ryan just one floor below, claimed a water bug the size of her fist had climbed out of her bathtub drain, and nobody doubted her. But the creature in front of Hick rose at least four feet in the air. Granted, it was sitting up on its back legs, a very unnatural-looking position for a cockroach, but still…

"Smells what so good, smells what?" a voice hissed, and it took everyone a full minute to realize it had come from the cockroach. They were too stunned to make any sense of the strange words.

"Did… Did it just talk?" Nico whispered.

The cockroach appeared to be sniffing at something, its fillers twitching about in the air.

"Smells what so good, smells what?" it repeated.

Hick took a big sniff and immediately regretted it. There was only one thing that could smell like that. Hazel caught on to the whiff as well and glared at Nico.

"You didn't!" she exclaimed.  
"I… I think I pooped my pants," Nico admitted abashedly. "It's just, I couldn't relieve my bowels since we left Camp Half-Blood at midnight, and falling hundreds of feet from the sky is really scary!"  
"Ugh, dude!" Hick exclaimed, pulling her shirt over nose.

During her stationed stay with Hazel and Nico in Camp Half-Blood's Hades cabin, she learnt the hard way that Nico was a very smelly pooper. It didn't help that he made pooping a morning ritual. Once his stools stink up the cabin's bathroom, the overpowering stench lingers for more than half a day, and no amount of Febreze could get rid of it.

"Ahhh. Closer come can we, closer come?" said the roach, delicately sweeping the space in front of it with a leg.

"We?" said Percy and Jason in unison. Then they saw the other forms rising out of the dark around them. The smooth black bumps they all had taken for rocks were actually the backs of another dozen or so enormous cockroaches. They clustered around Nico eagerly, waving their antennas in the air and shuddering in delight.

"Uh… hi?" Nico muttered, and they gave an appreciative hiss.  
"Be he king, be he? Be he king of Sky-dwellers, be he?" asked the leader, dipping its head in slavish devotion.

"King?" Percy repeated after the cockroach.  
"I think they like the way Nico smells," Hick whispered.  
"Sky-dwellers?" Hazel said.

"Be you not Sky-dweller human, be you? No Land-dweller you," said one torchbearing roach peering closely at them. "Look much like, but smell not like."

Something seemed to dawn on the leader. "Rat bad." It turned to its comrades. "Leave we Sky-dwellers here, leave we?" The roaches left Nico and drew closely together in consultation and all began to talk at once.

"What's going on?" Nico said.

Hick immediately dropped her backpack to the sandy ground and reached for her brass knuckles, safely nestled between packs of sandwiches and a hidden compartment of matchsticks.

"Hick?" Percy whispered. "What are you doing?"  
"I don't know what it is, but something's coming. An army," she replied, shouldering her backpack on again.  
"The Creepers?" Jason asked.  
"No. I don't know. But they intend to kill," said Hick.

Her senses were starting to sharpen. She heard snarls and scratches, smelt the stench of rotting corpses and blood. The skin of every inch of her body started to tingle. This was bad. She thought she had it under control for good. Jason grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. Her purple irises were turning into an inky black. He knew.

"Oh gods. It's happening again," he said.  
"You know?" asked Hick, her throat tightening.  
"Fourth grade. When Ryan, you and I visited José and - "  
"I know. Remind me to demand the gods return all my memories of you," Hick cut him off, not wanting to recall the past.

"What's wrong wi - ?" Nico began, but was interrupted by the leader of the roaches. They appeared to have reached a consensus.

"You come, Sky-dwellers. Take to humans," said the leader.  
"Humans?" said Hazel, surprised. "There are other humans down here?"

"Ride you, Sky-dwellers, ride you?" said one roach, flattening itself on its stomach before Nico. A few other roaches follow suit. The roaches were offering them a lift.

"Do we have to?" said Nico, staring at the huge roaches in horror.  
Without hesitation, Hick and Jason clambered on.

"They're approaching. We should leave," said Hick, avoiding her teammates' eyes as she tried to shield hers. She couldn't let them see her like this. Not like this.

Nico, Hazel and Percy exchanged looks, unsure of what to do.

"She's right," urged Jason. "We need to move."  
"Hick, look at me," said Percy, reaching out to pry her fingers away from her face. "What's - "  
"Please!" Hick pleaded.

Sensing the urgency in her voice, Nico immediately climbed onto one of the roaches. "Get on," he urged Percy and Hazel.

The rest followed suit and the roaches took off immediately. Now, Hick knew roaches could move fast; she'd watched her mother swat them and believe me you, it was like watching Tom and Jerry in action. Apparently, these giant roaches had maintained their speed with their massive size.

They entered a tunnel and it began to twist and turn. The roaches veered into side passages and even doubled back to choose a new route sometimes. In minutes, Hick was hopelessly lost, she gave up trying to remember directions.

* * *

They had been riding the roaches, on the run for quite some time now. From what, Percy has no clue. All he knew was that Jason and Hick were riding side-by-side right in front of him, and they were conversing in hushed voices. Percy strained his ears to make out the words, but the scrapes and rustles of roach legs on dusty grey grounds blocked out the words.

And to be honest, he was starting to feel tired. They had been on horseback all night in the sky, and while they were in a dim-lit tunnel and Percy has no idea what time it is, it is most likely past breakfast. Which means he's feeling sleepy AND hungry. He shrugged off his backpack and fished out a neatly wrapped gyros sandwich out of his parcel of gyros sandwiches. Maybe he should offer one to Hick. No matter how many fights they had picked with each other at Camp Half-Blood, Hick didn't look too well earlier on at the coast, and it wouldn't be nice to starve her.

"Hey, who wants – "

Jason had just reached out and held on to Hick's hand. Percy stared on blankly. Surely it was merely a platonic gesture, a gesture of concern. Nothing romantic. But he felt his chest tighten. The tunnel's dim lighting made it seemed as if Ryan was the one on Hick's side. An image of Hick in Ryan's arms flashed before his eyes, a snippet of the illusion Aphrodite had shown him.

"Percy!" yelled Hazel. He turned to look at her.  
"What?" he asked.  
"What's wrong with you? I called you so many times, but you didn't reply," said Hazel.  
"Nothing," said Percy. "What do you want?"  
"Your sandwich is crumbling into bits," said Hazel.

Percy immediately relaxed his grip on the sandwich as soon as he realized that he was squeeze the life out of it, and scrambled to salvage whatever was left of the squashed, crumbly sandwich into the confinements of its plastic wrap. He hadn't realized that he was clenching it so hard.

He cast a glance at Hazel. She seemed to be watching too closely for his comfort. Just when he was about to tell her to cut it out, Percy heard a familiar roar. At first he thought he was mistaken, but as they drew closer he felt sure. It was a crowd and, judging by the sound of it, a big one. But where could you fit a crowd in these tunnels?

The floor began to slope sharply, and Percy found himself lying face flat on his roach's thin, hard shell. Something soft and feathery brushed against his face and arms. Fabric? Wings? He passed through the stuff, and the unexpected light nearly blinded him. His hand instinctively covered his eyes as they tried to adjust.

A gasp went up from a crowd. He'd been right about that part. Then it got unnaturally quiet, and he had the sense that a great number of people were looking at him. Percy began to make out his surroundings. It wasn't really that bright - in fact, it seemed like evening - but he'd been in darkness so long, he couldn't tell. The first thing he made out was the ground, which appeared to be covered with a dusky green moss. Except it wasn't uneven, but smooth as pavement. He could feel its springiness under his feet. "It's a field," he thought. "For some kind of game. That's why there's a crowd. I'm in a stadium."

Slowly it came into focus. A polished wall enclosed a large oval cavern about fifty feet high. The top of the oval was ringed with bleachers. Percy's eyes traveled up the distant rows of people as he tried to find the ceiling. Instead, his eyes found something else more alarming.

"Oh gods," he whispered.

* * *

**To be continued.**


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

**Sky-dwellers and Land-dwellers**

A dozen bats were slowly spiraling down from the top of the arena, ranging in color from light yellow to black. Hick stared up at the flying creatures. Their terribly massive size unsettled her. The crowd must have been watching them when they stumbled in, because the rest of the field area was empty. _Maybe it's like Rome, and they feed people to the bats. Maybe that's why the roaches brought us here,_ she thought, shuddering at the gruesome idea of it.

Something fell from one of the bats, and it was hurtling towards her.

In the blink of an eye, Nico had yanked Hick off her roach and the object hit the roach's back, bouncing off fifty feet into the air. It was a ball.

"Most graceful, the young prince," hissed a roach dreamily.  
"Stop calling me that!" Nico growled.  
"Guys… where are we?" asked Hazel, reaching her hand out to help Hick back up on her feet.

Just then, one brown bat abandoned the ring of flying creatures, heading straight for them.

"Take cover!" Hick heard Jason yell, but for some reason, her body couldn't seem to react to his command. Her eyes met the bat's, and its eyes seem to widen in fear as soon as they locked gaze. She must have been radiating death again. Of course she is, it happens whenever she's nervous.

And the creature swooped over Hick, lightly brushing the back of her head with its belly fur, and then soared back into the air in a loop. At the top of the arc, while the bat was flat on its back, Hick noticed for the first time that someone was sitting on it. The rider had its legs wrapped around the bat's neck. It was a boy, probably a year or two younger than Hick - in other words, of high school age. _A teenager,_ Hick realized.

The upside-down rider released his legs and dropped off the bat's back. He executed a perfect double back-flip and landed on the ground as lightly as a cat in front of Hick. Hick caught Nico's gaze and they could tell the other weren't impressed. What a show-off.

Hands down, the tall nimble rider was the strangest-looking person Hick had ever seen. His skin was so pale, she could see every vein in his body. She thought of the section on the human anatomy in her science book. Flip one page, see the bones. Next, the digestive system. This dude was a walking circulatory system.

At first she thought his hair was the same gray as the old folks' from the neighborhood's elderly home who rode the same bus as Hick and Ryan. But that wasn't right. It was really more of a silver color, like blond hair with a metallic tint. And it was neatly combed to the right, without a single strand of hair out of place. She could tell by the upright way he held himself, by the slight smile at the left corner of his mouth, by the way he looked down at her that he was a total snob. And she felt pretty sure he'd done that fancy trick off the bat to completely for the arrivers' benefit. One flip would have been plenty. It was his way of intimidating them, but Hick wouldn't be intimidated. She glanced over at her other comrades and they seemed equally annoyed by this guy.

"You're not from here," spoke the rider as he approached them, his smirk vanishing. He drew a sword and pointed it at Hick, who was at that point standing closest to him. "Name yourselves."

Percy immediately got off his roach and strode over to Hick's side. He slapped away the boy's blade.

"Watch where you point that," he hissed.  
The tall boy narrowed his amber eyes at Percy. "Clearly, you are unwise. Or you would not say such things to a king."  
"No, if we'd known, we would've said something cooler," shrugged Hick.

The young king frowned at her. "Cooler?"  
"Better," said Hick, for lack of a cooler word. "Now, your… uh… majesty. Highness. Lordship. We're – "  
"I am King Dane," the young king interrupted.

"King Dane. We're not here to fight," Hick continued, placing a hand on Percy's shoulder in case he plans on attacking the king, because he definitely looked the part with his clenched fists and flexed arm muscles. The surrounding spectators were starting to get riled up, and that was not a good sign. "We're just passing by and clearly, we're unwelcomed here. So we'll be on our way."

"On your way? To where?" asked Dane in surprise.  
"Anywhere away from here," Hazel retorted as she walked over to Hick's side. "It's not like you'd want us to stay."

"Smelling like you do?" said Dane. "You will be thrice dead before you reach the Waterway, even if you knew the path to take." He could see neither of the demi-gods understood what he was saying. "You smell of Sky-dweller, of scent from the realm Phoebe forewarned us. That is not safe for you here. Or for us."

"Oh," said Hazel, feeling a little foolish. "I guess we should rinse off before we go then."  
"Wait! Phoebe? As in the titan, Phoebe?" said Jason. He met Hick's gaze and saw that she was just as shocked.  
"I will let Viktus explain," said Dane. "You have had rare luck today, being found so quickly."  
"How do you know we were found quickly?" asked Hick.  
"Our lookouts noted you shortly after you landed. As you were the crawlers' find, we let them present you," Dane said.

Percy scoffed. "We were practically being watched the moment we set foot on that coast," he said, turning to glare at Hick, to which she simply rolled her eyes to. He was obviously not going to let go of the portal incident.

"These were headed here, in any case," Dane said, gesturing to the roaches. "See, they carry torches. They would not bother if they were not visiting us."

"Why's that?" said Nico, trying hard to ignore the roaches that followed him in his trail in slavish devotion.

"Crawlers do not need light. But they show themselves to us to let us know they come peacefully. Did you not wonder at how easily you arrived here?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer from the demi-gods, he turned to the group of cockroaches who had been standing patiently off to the side. "Crawlers, what take you for the Sky-dwellers?"

The head roach scurried forward. "Give you five baskets, give you?" he hissed.

"We will give three grain baskets," said Dane.  
"Rats give many fish," said the roach, cleaning its antennas casually.  
"Take them to the rats, then. It will give you no time," said Dane.

Hick didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but she had the uneasy sense that she, Nico, Hazel, Percy and Jason were for sale. The insect considered Dane's last offer. "Give you four baskets, give you?" it said.

"We will give four baskets, and one for thanks," said a voice behind Hick. All five demi-gods turned and saw a pale, bearded man approaching them on foot. His close-cropped hair really was silver, not just the silvery blond.

Dane glared at the old man but didn't contradict him.

The cockroach painstakingly added up four and one on its legs. "Give you five baskets, give you?" it asked, as if the whole idea was a new one.

"As Viktus said, we will give five baskets," said Dane less than graciously, giving the roach a terse bow. The roach leader bowed back and scampered off with the other roaches out of the stadium.

"What makes you think we should trust you," said Hick.

Dane turned to meet her violet eyes. She could tell by the way he looked at her that he didn't like the fact that she questioned him.

"You don't have a choice. I've bought you from the Crawlers, which means you're my property now. You're staying here forever."  
"Forever?" Percy repeated, his hand instinctively on the hilt of his sword as he got Hick behind his back.  
"Uh, no! No thank you!" said Hick, poking her head over Percy's shoulder. "I mean, you're all great, but we're not here on vacation!"  
But all Dane did was shrug. "There's no escaping."

This was bad. Before she knew it, Percy had turned and grabbed her hand.

"Run!" he yelled, pulling Hick along with him as he sprinted toward the arched opening the roaches had left by. Jason, Nico and Hazel immediately followed suit, staying close behind Percy. Out of the corner of her eye Hick saw Dane raise his hand. For a moment she thought he was waving good-bye, but that couldn't be right. Dane wasn't friendly enough to wave. And then it dawned on her. He wasn't waving. He was signaling. All the bats in the arena started to swoop down towards them.

"No! Nico, Hazel! Behind you! Get down! Jason!" Hick yelled.

Too late.

A couple of bats picked Nico off the ground, then Hazel and Jason. With her hand still locked in a tight grip with Percy's, Hick jerked Percy towards her, saving him from the clutches of one golden bat that tried to take a snag at him. Ten yards from the exit another bat swept in front of them, knocking Percy flat on his back. His body cushioned Hick's fall and she immediately rolled off him, staring wearily at the bats that surrounded them. They flew in a tight circle around Hick and Percy, locking them in a prison of wings and fur. Each one had a rider as pale and silver-haired as Dane. Despite the close proximity and speed of the bats, none of the people had any trouble staying mounted. In fact, only a few bothered to hold on at all. One cocky-looking guy on a glossy black bat actually lay in a reclining position, propping up his head with one hand.

The riders couldn't take their eyes off the captives. As they flashed by, Hick could see their expressions ranged from amusement to outright hostility. As soon as she got to her feet and helped Percy up, the circle of bats shrunk even close.

"What? Like I'm going somewhere?" Hick heard Percy commented sarcastically. A couple of the riders laughed at his retort and that really annoyed Percy. Hick could tell by the way he clenched his fists and the exasperated expression he wore.

Dane must have given another signal, because the bats peeled off one at a time and began wheeling around the arena in complicated patterns. Hick saw that neither Dane nor Viktus had bothered to move from where she had left them, and there was Jason, Nico and Hazel, imprisoned within the clutches of the bats that caught them. She looked at the doorway and she knew it was pointless. Still... these people were a little too smug for their own good.

Hick sprinted three steps for the exit before she whipped around and headed right back towards Dane, catching Percy's hand on the way. Taken by surprise, the bats broke out of their formation and zoomed down, only to find themselves with no one to capture. They pulled up in an awkward clump, and while they didn't actually collide, Hick felt gratified to see several riders struggling to stay on their bats.

The crowd broke out in appreciative laughter. Now Hick felt a little more confident. "Faked them out," she said to Percy, momentarily forgetting that they were still feuding.

Dane's gaze was icy, but Hick saw Viktus trying to suppress a smile as he walked up. "So, you said something about a bath?" she said to Dane.

"You should be grateful. Water is scarce here. You will follow Viktus to the palace now," said Dane crossly, marching off to where his bat waited. The stands were beginning to empty. High in the air, the people filed out through exits between their bleachers. Hick watched as several bats with riders as pale and as blonde as Dane still wove around the stadium doing aerodynamic maneuvers. Whatever game had been in progress had ended when they arrived. The remaining bats and riders were hanging around to keep an eye on them.

"Will you follow to the palace, Sky-dwellers?" asked Viktus politely.  
"As what, your prisoner?" said Percy bluntly, much to Hick's chagrin.  
"As our guest, I hope," replied Viktus. "Although King Dane has no doubt ordered the dungeon readied for you." His amber eyes literally twinkled, and Hick found herself liking the man in spite of herself. She resisted the temptation to smile.

"Lead the way," said Percy indifferently.

Viktus nodded and waved him toward the far side of the arena. Hick followed a few steps behind him, along with her comrades. As they neared the main entrance of the stadium, Viktor dropped back and fell in step with Hick and Hazel, while the three guys kept close from behind. "You must feel as if you are trapped in a dream."

"Uh… yeah, I guess," said Hazel uncertainly.

Viktus chuckled. "Our bats and crawlers - no, what is it you call them? Cockhorses?"  
"Cockroaches," Nico piped in.

"Ah, yes, cockroaches," agreed Viktus. "In your world, they are but handfuls while here they grow largely."  
"How do you know that? Have you been to our world?" said Hick.

"Oh, no, such visits are as rare as trees. But the Stingers, or what you call mosquitoes, are able to get up there and survive the deep waters of your world. It is in fact your kind who came at times to us, falling from the sky. I have seen many, their remains strewn across the coast. Six or seven survived have survived before you came. One called Fred Clark, another called Mickey, and most recently a woman known as Coco. What are you called, Sky-dweller?" Viktus turned to Hick.

"Hick. This here is my younger sister, Hazel, and my younger brother, Nico. Jason and Percy here are my comrades. Anyway, are they still here? The other… uh… Sky-dweller humans… are they still here?" asked Hick, brightening a little at the thought. She missed the human world so badly. She missed her mom, Ryan and José the most.

"Sadly, no. This is not a gentle place for Sky-dwellers," said Viktus, his face darkening.  
Hick stopped, and Percy tried hard not to bump into, resulting in an awkward dance. "You mean you killed them?" said Hick.

Now she'd insulted the guy.

"We? We Land-dwellers kill the Sky-dwellers? I know of your world, of the evils that transpire there. But we do not kill for sport!" said Viktus severely. "Today we have taken you in among us. Had we denied you, count on it, you would not be breathing now!"

"Way to go to piss him off, Hick," whispered Nico, earning a jab in the ribs from Jason.  
"Well, I… I… My mistake, I didn't know how it worked here," stammered Hick. Although she should have guessed that it wasn't very diplomatic to suggest Viktus was a murderer. "So, the roaches would have killed us?"  
"The crawlers kill you?" said Viktus. "No, it would give them no time."

Hick met Hazel's equally puzzled gaze. What did it mean to give the roaches time?

"But no one else even knows we're here," Percy commented, finally speaking up to Viktus.

Viktus looked at him gravely. Concern had replaced his anger. "Believe me, boy, by this time, every creature in our world knows you are here."

Hick resisted an impulse to look over her shoulder. "And that's not a good thing, is it?"

Viktus shook his head. "No. That is not in any manner a good thing. But your visit wasn't unexpected at all. "

The old man turned to the exit of the stadium. Half a dozen pale, amber-eyed guards flanked two gigantic stone doors. It took their combined efforts to push the doors open a few feet and to allow them to pass. Percy was the last to pass through, and the massive doors closed immediately behind him.

They continued to follow Viktus down a tunnel lined with stone torches to a small arch filled with something dark and fluttery. Hick thought it might be more bats, but on closer inspection she saw it was a cloud of tiny black moths. Was this what she had passed through when she stumbled into the stadium?

Viktus gently slid his hand into the insects. "These moths are a warning system peculiar to our world, I believe. The moment their pattern of flight is disturbed by an intruder, every bat in the area discerns it. I find it so perfect in its simplicity," he said. Then he vanished into the moths. Behind the curtain of wings, Hick could hear Viktus voice beckoning. "Come on, Sky-dwellers. Welcome to the city of Terra!"

Terra as in the Roman counterpart of Gaea? Hick gulped. This world was giving her a really bad feeling.

* * *

The velvety wings brushed past Hick's cheek, and she caught his first sight of Regalia. "Wow!" she said, stopping in her tracks.

Hick didn't know what she'd expected. Maybe stone houses, maybe caves - something primitive. But there was nothing primitive about the magnificent city that spread before her.

They stood on the edge of a valley filled with the most beautiful buildings he'd ever seen. The buildings here were all a lovely misty gray, which gave them a dreamlike quality. They seemed to rise directly out of the rock as if they had been grown, not made by human hands. Maybe they weren't as tall as the skyscrapers Hick had seen in cities back on Earth, but they towered high above her head, some at least thirty stories and finished in artful peaks and turrets. Thousands of torches were placed strategically so that a soft, dusky light illuminated the entire city.

And the carvings ... Hick had seen cherubs and gargoyles on buildings before, but the walls of Terra crawled with life. People and cockroaches and fish and creatures Terra had no name for fought and feasted and danced on every conceivable inch of space.

"Do just people live here, or roaches and bats, too?" Hick heard Hazel whispered. She was just as in awe as Hick of the view.

"This is a city of humans. The others have their own cities, or perhaps 'lands' might be a more accurate word," replied Viktus. "The majority of our people live here, although some dwell in the suburbs, if their work so dictates. There stands our palace," said Viktus, directing Hazel's eye to a huge, circular fortress at the far edge of the valley. "There we are headed."

The lights shining from the city's many windows gave it a festive look, and Hick felt her heart lightening a little. She remembered how New York City glittered like that all night long too, when she and her mom would accompany Ryan and his family on a trip to the concrete jungle. Maybe this place wasn't so foreign after all.

* * *

People stared openly at them from the windows as they passed, much to Percy's discomfort. Viktus acknowledged a few, nodding or calling out a name, and they'd raise their hands in greeting back.

"You hold great fascination for them," said Viktus, indicating the people in the windows. "We do not get many visits from the realm of the Sky."

"Um… about our baths… what did Dane mean when he say we're scarce on water?" asked Hick.

"The Clawers, or as you call rats, had restricted the water source that reaches the land of us land-dwelling humans, and thus the Stingers and Flyers as well," said Vikus.

"Flyers? Stingers?" Nico repeated after the old man.

"For Flyers I mean bats," Viktor replied. "And the Stingers… they appear to be called bees from where you come from because they sting, but also possibly mosquitos as they are able to live on land and in water. You must know of their presence. They visited your world not too recently."

"So why did they wage a war against us?" said Percy. He immediately regrettied the words he blurted out for Viktus looked sombre. But the old man continued.

"There are seven main, evolved creatures: rats known as Clawers, mice as Pawers, bats as Flyers, roaches as Crawlers, bees as Stingers, spiders as Spinners and… well, we humans. The spinners, pawers and crawlers take neither our side, nor the rats'. We sent the Stingers, who side with us Land-dwelling humans, to your world to gather water for our land. They sought a compromise with the ruler of the waters, but met with war almost immediately instead. Some fled to prevent bloodshed, but those who were angered stubbornly stayed to fight on and make the ocean their own by building their own city. As you should know, the Stingers lost and have all returned now. So let me correct you, Percy the Sky-dweller, the Stingers did not initiate the war. Your kind did."

**To be continued...  
**

* * *

_Hi guys! My apologies for the late update! I've been so tied up with school lately :( So now, how about a review? **PLEASE REVIEW~~** Let me know what you'd like to see play out for future chapters, because I would **love** to hear from you what awesome ideas you have!_

_Lots of love, turtledynasty._


	11. Chapter 11

**Rats**

It took a good twenty minutes to reach the palace. As they approached the magnificent structure, Jason noticed there was nothing carved on it. The sides were as smooth as glass, and the lowest window opened two hundred feet above the ground. Something was off, but he couldn't quite place it. Something was missing. "There's no door," he said aloud.

"No," said Viktus. "Doors are for those who lack enemies. Even the most accomplished climber cannot find a foothold here."

Nico ran his hand along the polished stonewalls. There wasn't a crack, not even the tiniest nick in the surface. "So, how do you get inside?"

"We usually fly, but if one's bat cannot accommodate..." Viktus gestured above his head. Everyone craned their necks back and saw that a platform was being rapidly lowered from a large, rectangular window. It caught on the ropes that supported it about a foot from the ground, and Viktus stepped aboard.

The demi-gods' hesitation melted as soon as Hazel clambered on, and the rest followed suit. The platform immediately rose, and all five demi-gods started to violently stagger and collide into each other, scrambling for a side rope to steady themselves while Viktus stood calmly with his hands folded before him.

The ascent was rapid and even. The platform leveled off at the window before a small, stone staircase and all five demi-gods proceeded to stumble into a large room with vaulted ceilings. A group of three Land-dwellers, all with the same translucent skin and violet eyes, waited to greet them.

"Good late day," said Viktus, nodding to the Land-dwellers. "Meet you the Sky-dwellers who have most recently fallen among us. Please bathe them and then proceed to the High Hall." Without a backward glance, Viktus strode out of the room.

While the rest stared awkwardly at the Land-dwellers, Jason sneaked a peak at how Hick was doing. It seems that her condition is much stable now. If she had lost control of herself, he couldn't guarantee if everyone would be alive by now. It's times like this when Ryan is desperately needed. That boy always had the special ability to stop… whatever it is inside Hick that makes her go berserk and murderous, from coming out.

He returned his gaze to the Sky-dwellers that still waited on them. None of them had Dane's arrogance or Viktus' easy commanding presence. "They're just regular people," he thought. "I bet they feel as weird as we do."

"Well, about time you get this shit cleaned up," Hick broke the silence, spinning Nico around to show the Land-dwellers the poop stains on his scaly butt.  
"Oh, that's nasty," commented Hazel, exchanging cheeky grins with Hick.  
"Sh-Shut up!" said Nico, very much abashed. The Land-dwellers resolve melted like butter in a skillet and they started to laugh, much to Jason's relief, and the stiffness left their bodies.

Speaking of scaly legs, Jason realized his legs were starting to shed the mermaid scales. He met Percy's gaze, who seemed to have arrived to that realization too. They needed pants, pronto.

* * *

The group left the entrance room and walked down a spacious hallway. They passed dozens of arched doorways that opened into large chambers, staircases, and halls. Hick immediately realized she'd need a map to navigate the place. She could ask directions, but that wouldn't be too smart if she was trying to escape. They could call her their guest, but it didn't change the fact that she and her team were now prisoners. They did kill a lot of the Stingers, and they were the Land-dwellers' allies. Perhaps after getting them washed up, the Land-dweller were going to kill them. After all, guests could leave if they wanted to. Prisoners had to escape. And that was exactly what she planned to do.

Just then they stopped at a doorway. Hick could hear water running, and steam wafted out into the hall.

 _Must be the bathroom,_ she thought. She looked inside and saw that a wall divided the room into two sections.

"I will take the ladies. And you two lads shall go in there. Harppet and Barog shall escort you," said the plump, matronly female Land-dweller as she indicated to one side.

Hick guessed it must be girls on one side, boys on the other, like locker rooms. She felt uneasy, not having Nico, Percy and Jason around. Her pulse started to quicken. She must have been radiating fear again, because the very next second, Nico had slipped his fingers in between hers. He gave her a reassuring smile, the sweet little brother he is. And then, they separated. "So how do you guys have hot and cold running water?" Hazel asked the Land-dweller lady, whose name was Miullark.

She told her the water was pumped from a series of hot and cold springs.

"And then it just empties back into a spring?" she asked innocently. From the corner of her eye, she could see Hick smirk. She knew what her sister was trying get to.

"Oh, no, that would not be fresh," said Miullark. "The dirty water falls into the river beneath the palace and then flows to the Waterway. That is our only source of water for now, every since the rats blocked the other Waterways. Who knows how long that water source can last us, though."

It was just the information Hazel needed. The river beneath the palace was their way out. They veered off to the right. The place did kind of resemble a locker room if locker rooms were gorgeous and smelled good. Exotic sea creatures were carved into the walls, and oil lamps cast a golden glow.

 _Okay, but it's got benches and lockers, sort of,_ Hazel thought, taking in the rows of stone benches and the open cubicles that lined one side of the room. There, they had to strip themselves off their clothes and wear around them milky white silk towels.

As soon as Miullark dropped them off at a small, steaming pool with steps that led down into the water, the girls scrubbed themselves down using a sponge and some gloopy stuff Hazel found in a bowl by the pool.

"So what's your plan, Sherlock?" said Hick, as she lathered her hair and even cleaned the inside of her ears, wanting to get every bit of Sky-dweller smell off her. If they were going to try to escape, she needed to be as odorless as possible. There had to be a reason why the Land-dwellers are so obsessed with getting rid of their smell.

"By midnight, when the castle is asleep. We trace the water source to the Waterway and escape," replied Hazel.

* * *

"So, what happened to our clothes?" asked Percy, as soon as he, Jason and Nico exited the washroom.

"They have been burned," said Barog apprehensively. Percy sensed Barog was afraid they'd be mad. And boy was he.

"It is most dangerous to keep them," said Harpett by way of explanation. "The ash carries no scent. So we've provided you with some of our native clothes."

He then proceeded to gesture at a neat pile of smoky blue garments. A shirt, pants, and what seemed to be underwear. They were much finer than the towels. Nico had reached out to touch the fabric, and it seemed to run silkily through his fingers.

"After a few days of our food, you will be without much odor, too," said Barog encouragingly.

"That'll be nice," said Percy dryly. These Land-dwellers were sure obsessed with their smell. He was starting to get offended.

Barog and Harpett led them up several staircases and through a maze of halls. They eventually wound up in a long room that opened out on to a balcony. "We call this the High Hall," said Harpett. "I think you guys forgot the roof," said Nico. Percy surveyed his surroundings. While the walls were decorated with the greatest care, there was nothing but the black cavern above their heads. Harpett laughed. "Oh, no, it is meant to be so. We entertain here often, and many bats can arrive at once." Percy imagined the bottleneck a hundred bats would cause trying to get in the door downstairs. He could see the advantage of a bigger landing strip The dining room led up a flight of stairs to a tall platform in the High Hall. Viktus, Hick and Hazel had apparently arrived before them, and Hick sounded far from happy with Viktus.

"I can't believe you burnt all my stuff! My clothes, my sandwiches, my brass knuckles, my… my PHONE!" yelled Hick.  
"I don't know what this… 'phone' is that you keep speaking of. My apologies. It is natural for you to be upset, Hick the Sky-dweller, but you must understand we are doing this for your safety," said Viktus.  
"Forgive her, it's just that Hick has a lot of memories kept in her phone," came Hazel's calm voice.

"Damn. They burnt Hick's phone?" said Jason, as they climbed up the stairs.  
"That explains why she's yelling her head off," said Nico. "Back in the cabin, she always shows Hazel and I all sorts of photos of her with these two guys, Ryan and José. Especially this Ryan guy. I think she likes him. And I think she misses her old life."

Percy clenched his fists, trying not to let his anger get the better of him. _Good, burn the damn phone,_ he thought sulkily. He hated it. He hated the fact that he felt this way. He hated the fact that he was thinking selfish thoughts. When did he start to fall for Hick, anyway? Percy shook his head. _Snap out of it!_ he told himself inwardly. _It's got to be a passing fancy. It's got to be. Besides, there were more important matters to think about. Like why I had pathetic control over the waters in this world._

They eventually reached the top, with Barog and Harpett following close behind them, probably to ensure that they did not escape.

A table had been set for eight, surrounded by what seemed to be several Land-dweller human servants, with the same translucent complexion and silvery hair as Dane and Viktus. Hick had apparently stopped yelling and was had crossed her arms while standing before her assigned dining seat. Hazel was standing next to her, staring apologetically at an uneasy Viktus.

"So! What's for dinner? Shall we not stand on ceremony?" said Nico, as soon as he, Percy and Jason had taken their places behind their assigned dining seats. Percy had, much to his dismay, been seated beside Hick.

Before Viktus could reply, Dane swept into the room in a suit that was a lot fancier than the clothes he'd worn in the stadium. He was with a shorter young boy who Percy guessed was about sixteen. He was laughing at something Dane had just said. Percy recognized him from the stadium. It was the rider who'd felt cocky enough to lie down on his bat as they'd swirled around Percy and Hick.

 _Another show-off,_ thought Percy. But the guy gave him such a friendly look that Percy decided not to jump to conclusions. Dane was annoying, but most of the other Land-dwellers were okay.

"My cousin, Henry," said Dane shortly.

Henry gave them a low bow and came up grinning. "Welcome, Sky-dweller," he said. Then he wound his arm around Percy and Hick's neck, speaking in a dramatically hushed voice. "Beware the fish, for Dane plans to poison you directly!"

Viktus laughed, and even Dane smiled. It was a joke, Percy realized. These people actually had a sense of humor.

"Beware your fish, Henry," returned Dane as he took his seat. "I gave orders to poison scoundrels, forgetting you would be dining as well."

Henry winked at Hick. "Switch plates with the bats," he whispered, and at that moment two bats swooped into the room from the High Hall. "Ah, the bats!"

Percy recognized the golden bat Dane had been riding earlier. A large gray bat fluttered into a chair near Viktus, and everyone else took a seat.

"Sky-dwellers, meet you Aurora and Euripedes. They are bonded to Dane and myself," said Viktus, extending a flexed hand to the gray bat on his right. Euripedes brushed the hand with his wing. Dane and his golden bat Aurora performed the same exchange.

Percy had thought the bats were like horses, but now he could see they were equals. Did they talk?

"Greetings, Sky-dwellers," said Euripedes in a soft purring voice.

Yeah, they talked. Percy began to wonder if his fish dinner would want to chat as he sliced into it.

"Nice to meet you," said Jason politely, while the other demi-gods looked on in stunned silence. "What does that mean, that you're bonded to each other?"

"We humans formed a special alliance with the bats," said Viktus. "Both sides saw the obvious advantages to joining together. But beyond our alliance, individual bats and humans may form their own union. That is called bonding."  
"And what do you do if you're bonded to a bat? I mean, besides play ball games together," joked Percy.

There was a pause in which glances were exchanged around the table between Dane, Viktus and Henry.

"Dude, I think you just pissed them off," said Jason from across the table.

"We keep each other alive," Dane said finally, and rather coldly.  
"Oh, I didn't know," said Percy sheepishly.  
"Of course, you did not," said Viktus, shooting a look at Dane. "You have no parallel in the land of Land-dwellers, Percy the Sky-dweller."  
"And do you bond with the crawlers, too?" Nico asked, munching on a couple of what seemed to be some sort of miniature purple broccoli from a saucer of exotic vegetable appetizers.  
Henry snorted with laughter. "I would as soon bond with a stone. At least it could be counted on not to run away in battle."

Dane broke into a grin. "And perhaps you could throw it. I suppose you could throw a crawler..."  
"But then I would have to touch it!" said Henry, and the two cracked up.

Percy raised his brows. Boy, did their sense of humour suck.

"The crawlers are not known for their fighting ability," said Viktus, by way of explanation to the demi-gods. He was not laughing, and neither were the surrounding Land-dweller human servants who waited on them. He turned to Dane and Henry. "Yet they live on. Perhaps when you can comprehend the reason for their longevity you will have more respect for them."

Henry and Dane attempted to look serious, although their eyes were still laughing.

"It is of little consequence to the crawlers whether I respect them or not," said Henry lightly.

"Perhaps not, but it is of great consequence whether Dane does. Or so it will be in one year when he comes of age of twenty to rule," said Viktus. "At that time, foolish jokes at the crawlers' expense may make the difference between Terra's existence and annihilation. "

This sobered Dane up for real, but it killed the conversation. Percy thought he understood what Viktus had meant. The crawlers would make better friends than enemies, and humans shouldn't go around insulting them. Just then, a platter with a whole grilled fish was set in front of him. The fish resembled the ones Percy was used to except it had no eyes.

"Hey! No eyes!" Hick had echoed Percy's thoughts out loud. She was trying to break the tense silence with nonchalance and enthusiastic humour as usual. It was her way of coping in stressful situations, Percy could tell. And so could the other demi-gods.

"Gramps and I had once watched a show on TV about fish that lived way down deep in some cave and didn't have eyes either, the same day Ryan and José came over for a sleepover," continued Hick, jabbing away at where the fish's eye was suppose to be. "The weird thing was that when the scientists brought some up to study in a lab, the fish had sensed the light and had grown eyes. Not right away, but in a few generations.

"Gramps - he's a scientist - had gotten very excited over the show and had taken me to the American Museum of Natural History to look for eyeless fish. We had ended up at the museum a lot, just the two of us. Gramps was crazy about science, and it seemed as if he wanted to pour everything in his brain right into mine. It was a little dangerous, because even a simple question could bring on a half-hour explanation. Grandma had always said, 'Ask your gramps the time, and he tells you how to make a clock.' But he was so happy explaining, and I couldn't help but be intrigued by all the knowledge he could contain."

"Hick," Hazel began. The girl was starting to babble, and her panic was starting to show.

"Besides! The rain forest exhibit was lovely, and so was the cafeteria with french fries shaped like dinosaurs!"

"Hick," whispered Hazel, a little more urgently.

"We had never really figured out how the fish had known to grow eyes! Gramps had had some theories, of course! But he couldn't explain how the fish had been able to change so fast and – "

"Hick!" said Percy, grabbing Hick by her shoulder. She stopped immediately. He could see it in her eyes. She wanted her phone back, and she missed home, but she won't say it. Instead, she had instinctively plastered that same forced smile she usually wears.  
"Sorry," she apologized with a forced laugh. "L-Let's eat, shall we?"

From the corner of his eye, Percy could see Dane, Henry and Viktus staring at Hick rather strangely.

After a painfully silent dinner watched closely by a couple of Sky-dweller guards, Percy found him and his teammates shown to the sleeping quarters for guests. He and Jason were shown to one room. Before Percy entered his designated sleeping quarter, he saw from the corner of his eyes the three Hades kids being ushered into a room just three doors down. Hick had glanced up at met his eyes briefly. And then she disappeared behind the door.

* * *

Hick got up from her bed and groped her way to the curtain and pushed the edge aside. There was enough torchlight from the far hall for him to make out the passage was empty. The Land-dwellers had not bothered to post guards at the door now that they knew the demi-gods better. They were making an effort to make them feel like a guest and, anyway, where would they go?

 _Down the river,_ she thought grimly while Hazel filled Nico in on their plan to escape. _Wherever that leads._

* * *

Percy tried to lift droplets of water from a silver goblet of water. Several tiny, tiny droplets sporadically rise and dropped until Percy finally gave up and pushed the goblet away.

"Can't control it, huh?" said Jason, watching him closely as he sat on the windowsills. "I thought it was just me when I felt my flight abilities straining as soon as we entered this world."

"Do you think… maybe because our parents are gods in this world? So we don't have much control over our own elements?"  
"Possibly."

Just then, their bedroom door opened and it poked Hazel's head, followed by Nico's, and then Hick's. "Guys, follow us!" Hazel whispered gleefully.

* * *

Their bedrooms were conveniently close to the bathroom, and all five demi-gods followed their way to the watery sound. The Hades kids' plan was simple. The river ran under the palace. If they could make their way to the ground floor without losing the sound of water, they should find the place it drained into the river.

If the plan was simple, its execution was clearly not. It took them several hours to weave their way down through the palace. The bathrooms were not always near the stairs, and they found themselves having to backtrack so they wouldn't lose the sound of rushing water. Twice they had to duck into rooms and hide whenever any one of them spotted the Land-dwellers. Along the way, Hick had managed to pick out in the castle's royal museums what seemed to be a few yellow construction helmets with torches embedded in them, obviously from their world. "Figure it'll come in useful," she had said.

Finally the sound of water became stronger, and they made their way to the lowest level of the building. Hick followed her ears to where the roar was loudest and sneaked through a doorway. When Miullark had told Hazel about the "river", Hick had pictured the serene rivers that flowed through Apple Valley in California. But this river looked like something out of an action adventure movie. It wasn't terribly wide, but it ran with such speed that the surface was churned into white foam. He couldn't guess its depth, but it had enough power to carry large boulders by as if they were empty soda cans.

"No wonder the Land-dwellers didn't bother to post a guard on the dock," said Hazel.

"But you must be able to travel on it. They have boats," said Hick, gesturing to half a dozen crafts tied up above the rush of the current. They were made out of some kind of skin stretched over a frame. They reminded her of the canoes at college camp. Trying not to think of the bobbing boulders, Hazel carefully climbed into one of the boats and checked it out. Then she looked over her shoulder at her teammates.

"Come on then!" she called out, and they all clambered onto the boat.

"How do you get this thing down in the water?" Percy wondered as he seated himself way at the back beside Hick. Two ropes held it aloft. They were attached to a metal wheel that was affixed to the dock. "Well, here goes nothing," Hick said, and before her teammates could protest, gave the wheel a yank. It gave a loud creak, and the boat fell straight into the river, knocking all of them on their rear end. The current swept up the boat like it was a dried leaf. Jason and Nico instinctively grasped the sides of the boat while Hazel hung onto Nico for dear life and Percy grabbed onto Hick before she could be flung out of the boat, as they shot into the darkness. Hearing voices, the Hick and Percy seated way at the butt of the boat managed to look back at the dock for a moment. Two Sky-dwellers were screaming something after them. The river curved and they vanished from sight.

Hick met Percy's fearful gaze. Would they come after them? Of course they would come after them. But they had a head start, or so that was what Hick thought to reassure herself. How far was it to the Waterway? What was the Waterway, and once they got there, where do they go next?

At the front row, Hazel, Nico and Jason would have been more concerned about these questions if they weren't trying so hard to keep everyone on board alive. Along with the boulders, Nico and Jason had managed to steer the boast and dodge the jagged black rocks that jutted out of the water under Nico's instructions. The resourceful kid had found an oar lying along the bottom of the boat earlier on and used it to deflect the boat off the rocks.

"Percy, can you control the waters here? I don't think I can keep this up!" yelled Nico.  
"I… I can't!" returned Percy. "I'm trying but I can't entirely control the waters in this world!"

"Stop!" Nico thought he'd heard someone call out. Was it his imagination or - no! There it was again. The Sky-dwellers must be closing in on them. The river swerved and suddenly he could see a little better. A long cavern lined with crystals shimmered around him, reflecting back the beaming torchlight from his yellow construction helmet.  
,br Nico made out a glittering beach flanking one side of the river up ahead. A tunnel led from the beach into the dark. "To the beach!" he commanded. Immediately, he and Jason pushed off a rock and pointed the boat toward the beach and paddled desperately with the oars for the shore. The canoe slammed into the beach. And everyone jerked forward.

The demi-gods heard the Sky-dwellers yell in the distance and sped up, with Hick assuming the lead. "This way!" she called out to her teammates. She had just reached the mouth of the tunnel when she ran headfirst into something warm and furry. Startled, she staggered back a few paces, and switched on the torch on her helmet. Something stepped out into the dim light. Hick's knees turned to jelly and she sunk slowly to the sand.

"Ah, here you are at last," said the rat idly. "By your reek we expected you ages ago. Look, Fangor, this she-human has brought four more treats with her."

A long nose poked over the first rat's shoulder. It had a friend.

"What a tidbit she is," said Fangor in a smooth, rich voice.

"My, my~ A five course meal is tempting. I find myself quite torn by so many choices. I would like to start with this one though. Say, stand you, girl, and let us better tell your stuffing," said Shed, kicking his paws at Hick. Percy immediately grabbed Hick by her arm, pulled her to her feet and back away from the large drooling rats.

The cockroaches had been freaky, the bats intimidating, but these rats were purely terrifying. Sitting back on their haunches, they were a good six feet tall, and their legs, arms, whatever you called them, bulged with muscle under their gray fur. But the worst part of all was their teeth, six-inch incisors that protruded out of their whiskered mouths. They were way scarier than the carnivorous sheep back home.

Fangor's nose quivered. "They had fish for supper. Mushrooms, grain, and just a bit of leaf. Now that's flavorful, you must admit, Shed." "But the dark one has gorged on stewed cow and cream," returned Shed, gesturing at Hazel, who immediately was shielded by Nico.

Now Percy knew what all the fuss about bathing had been. If the rats could detect the handful of greens he'd eaten hours earlier, they must have an unbelievable sense of smell. The Land-dwellers hadn't been rude when they'd wanted them to bathe. They had been trying to keep them alive!

They had to stall for time to come up with a plan. It is times like this Hick wish she had her brass knuckles. But the Land-dweller had not returned it to her. Hick brushed the sand off her clothes and tried to adopt the rats' casual banter. "Do I have any say in this?" she asked, trying to stall for time.

To her surprise, Fangor and Shed laughed. "She speaks!" said Shed. "What a treat! Usually we get nothing but shrieks and whimpers! Tell us, Sky-dweller, what makes you so brave?"

"Oh, I'm not brave," said Hick. "Bet you can smell that."

The rats laughed again. "True, your sweat carries much fear, but you conceal it well indeed, and still managed to address us."

"Well, I thought you might like to get to know your meal better."  
"I like her, Shed!" howled Fangor.  
"I like her, too!" choked Shed. "The humans are commonly most dreary. Say we may keep her, Fangor."  
"Oh, Shed, how is that to be? It would entail much explaining, and besides, all this laughter gives me hunger," said Fangor.  
"And me," said Shed. "But you must agree, to eat such amusing prey is a great pity."  
"A great pity, Shed," said Fangor. "But without remedy. Shall we?"

And with that, both rats bared their teeth and started moving in on them. Hazel followed suit and held green flames in her palms while Jason and Nico held up the boat oars they still carried with them as weapons. Hick, with great difficulty, summoned a small ball of green underworld flames and hurled it at the rats. The rats pulled up short. At first Hick thought they were afraid of the flame, but it was something more. They looked stunned.

"Mark you, Shed, under the light of green. The girl has red hide," said Fangor in a hushed voice. His beady eyes were watching Hick closely now.  
"I mark it, Fangor," said Shed quietly. "And she smells but just a fresh post-pup. Think you she is ...?"  
"She is not if we kill her!" Fangor growled, leaping pass Nico and Hazel, and lunging for Hick's throat.

"No!" Percy yelled, yanking Hick behind his back.

The first bat came in so silently that neither the demi-gods nor the preoccupied rats saw it. It caught Fangor mid-leap, knocking him off course before he could rip Percy's face off. Fangor plowed into Shed, and the rats landed in a heap. Instantly they regained their feet and turned on their assailants.

Hick saw Henry, Barog, and Harpett zigzagging their bats above the rats' heads. Besides avoiding one another in limited space, they had to dodge the wicked claws of the rats. Fangor and Shed could easily leap ten feet in the air, and the sparkling ceiling of the cavern over the beach was not much higher.

The humans began to dive at the rats, wielding swords. Fangor and Shed fought back viciously with claws and teeth. Blood began to stain the beach, but Hick couldn't tell whose it was.

"Flee!" Henry shouted at the demi-gods as he whipped past them. "Flee, Sky-dwellers!"

At that moment, Shed caught the wing of Barog's bat in his teeth and hung on. The bat struggled to free itself, but Shed held fast. Harpett came in behind Shed, taking off his ear with one stroke of her sword. Shed gave a howl of pain, releasing Barog's bat.

"Watch out!" Nico yelled.

Too late. As Harpett pulled out of her dive, Fangor leaped onto her bat, ripping a chunk of fur off its throat and hurling her to the ground. Harpett hit her head on the cavern wall as she landed and was knocked out. Fangor loomed over her and aimed his teeth at her neck.

Hick didn't remember thinking of his next move, it just happened. One minute she was pressed against the wall, and the next she had jumped forward and, with her arm ablaze with green underworld flames, punctured her right arm into Fangor's left up to the elbows. The rat shrieked and stumbled backward, right into the oar Jason had slammed into him. Fangor's lifeless body fell to the ground, taking the wooden paddle with it.

"How fly you, Barog?" yelled Henry.

"We can hold!" cried Barog, although his bat was spraying blood from its wounded wing. Things didn't look good. Barog's bat was losing control, Henry was unarmed, Harpett was unconscious, her bat was gasping for air on the ground, and Shed was insane with pain and fear. Though bleeding badly, he had lost none of his speed or strength.

Barog was trying desperately to keep the rat from Harpett, but he was just one guy. Henry flew interference, but he couldn't get in too close without a sword. Hick met her teammates' gaze. They had to do something. So still gripping on to the boat oar, Nico got in front of the badly injured Harpett.

With all the strength he could muster, Percy tried to call on a tidal wave but all that was summoned from the river was a small splash. True to what he had claimed, earlier on the river wasn't listening to his commands. From the corner of her eye, Hick watched as Jason tried to emit a bolt of electric current to shoot at Shed. All that the Zeus kid could conjure up were two tiny electric sparks. And the underworld flames Hazel had summoned within her fingertips were starting to wane as her stamina started to take a downturn. Hick clenched her fists, her right arm still sticky with blood from having punctured Fangor's left eye. This was bad.

Then Shed leaped, catching Barog's bat by the feet. The bat slammed into the wall and so did Barog. The rat turned on the demi-gods. He was looking straight at Hick.

"Now you die!" screamed Shed. As Shed lunged at them, Nico charged forward with his wooden oar, but Shed never made it. Instead, the rat let out a gasp and pawed at the blade that jutted through its throat.

Hick caught a glimpse of Dane's bat, Aurora, flipping upright. He had no idea when he'd arrived. Dane must have been flying completely upside down when he'd stabbed Shed. Even though Dane had flattened himself on the bat's back, Aurora barely managed to pull out of the maneuver without scraping him off on the ceiling.

Shed slumped back against the cavern wall, but there was no fight left in him. His eyes burned into Hick's. "Sky-dweller," he gurgled, "we hunt you to the last rat." And with that, he died.

**To be continued.**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Do leave behind a comment or feedback behind. My motivation for fan-fiction writing partly thrives on the positive or constructive feedback readers leave behind. Also, do let me know what you'd like to see in future chapters! I will take them into careful consideration.


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